William Francis Callahan (June 12, 1891 – April 20, 1964) was a Massachusetts civil servant who served as Commissioner of Public Works from 1934-1952 and Chairman of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority from 1952 until his death in 1964. Callahan developed the Master Highway Plan for Metropolitan Boston, which included the Southwest Corridor

Southwest Corridor

The Southwest Corridor or Southwest Expressway was a project designed to bring an eight-lane highway into the City of Boston from a direction southwesterly of downtown. It was supposed to connect with Interstate 95 at Route 128...

 project. The Callahan Tunnel

Callahan Tunnel

The Callahan Tunnel, officially the Lieutenant William F. Callahan Tunnel is one of four tunnels beneath Boston Harbor in Boston, Massachusetts. It carries motor vehicles from the North End to Logan International Airport and Route 1A in East Boston...

 is named after his son who was killed in action during the Second World War

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. He died on April 20, 1964 in Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

.