A bridge in the heart of Boston is being renamed for Boston Celtics legend and civil rights pioneer Bill Russell, the city announced Friday.
The North Washington Street Bridge connecting Charlestown with the city's West and North ends — about a block from TD Garden — has been under reconstruction, with work scheduled to be completed this spring. The bridge's new name will be the William Felton "Bill" Russell Bridge.
"Bill Russell showed us on and off the court that, to deliver a brighter future, you have to reckon with the past. He knew he had a platform, and he used it to push for a better world," Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said.
Russell's widow Jeannine Russell, current and former Celtics players and team leadership joined Wu and other officials at the announcement Monday. The Celtics kick off their title-defense Tuesday.
Russell, who won 11 championships in 13 seasons, broke the color barrier in major U.S. sports as its first Black head coach and marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., died Aug. 1, 2022, at 88 years of age.
The bridge being named for Russell spans the same body of water as another crossing named for a Boston sports legend, the Ted Williams Tunnel, which was part of the infamous Big Dig.
When the William Felton "Bill" Russell Bridge is officially completed, it will have the city's first dedicated bus lane on a bridge as well as "hearty local landscaping," according to the city, which refers to that feature as a "first on a New England bridge." The well-known Freedom Trail runs over the structure.
