Boston Route 128’s Past and Present (1)
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Boston Route 128’s Past and Present: Tracing the Roots
Miracles are propitious accidents, the natural causes of which are too complicated to be readily understood.
—— George Santayana
The 1 -2 -8 number combination had made its appearance on the road map of Massachusetts as early as late 1920s. Without any scientific verification or painstaking conceiving, such an auspicious number – in the Chinese eyes – was no more than a result of the brainstorm by a few staff members of the Massachusetts Department of Public Works. At that time, the Boston Metropolitan District Commission confirmed the plan of expanding the Boston city traffic to a circumferential network of transportation. In order to cater to “the superior leadership,” these people haphazardly assigned Route 128 to a chain of existing local streets with various capacity and names that connected the main towns in Boston’s suburban area.
Today, “Route 128” is a loaded term with rich connotations. It has grown into a key high-tech region in the United States second only to Silicon Valley, and it has become the gauge of innovation and economic development for not only Massachusetts and America but the world at large. 128 High-tech Road, 128 High-tech Industrial District and 128 Innovation Corridor, altogether summarized as “the Route 128 Phenomenon,” have captured the attention of numerous policy makers, leaders from universities and research institutions, entrepreneurs and researchers. In the 1980s when “Massachusetts Miracle” was all the rage, visiting groups streamed in with the hope of learning and replicating the experiences and model of Route 128. Later on, following the decline and resurgence of the regional economy, there has not been a single moment when Route 128 does not affect the sensitive nerves of the global high-tech industry. All such, I fear, must have been way beyond the wildest imagination of the original code makers.
In fact, what we call Route 128 nowadays is not the road under its original name (that one still exists and is referred to as “Old Route 128”), but a relocated highway mainly rebuilt in 1950s. When we trace back the growing fame of Route 128, special thanks are due to two key figures. One is William Callahan, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Works, who fought against all odds and withstood the pressure to have the road built. The other is Gerald Blakeley, then young and ambitious employee of a Boston-based real estate development firm, Cabot, Cabot & Forbes.
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Callahan served his first term as commissioner of Massachusetts Department of Public Works between 1934 and 1939. At that time, the department, headed by Callahan, had begun to design a new and modernized Route 128 outside the dense town center. Restricted by scarce highway funds, the construction did not start until 1936. When Callahan was removed from office in 1939 by the Republican governor, Leverett Saltonstall, only two short sections of the new Route 128- one between Lynnfield and Peabody, and the other around the Dedham and Westwood area- were finished. For the next two years, Route 128 floundered and stumbled, growing merely a few miles, and brought to a complete standstill as the United States entered into World War II in 1941. When Democrat Paul Dever was sworn in as governor of Massachusetts in January 1949, he set highway building on top of his policy agenda. With the support of a Democratic-majority House of Representatives, Dever soon secured a $100 million bond bill, earmarked exclusively for statewide major highway projects. How to get around the bureaucratic red tape of the Department of Public Works and to speed up the road plans? Dever thought of Callahan who was known for his prolificacy and efficiency, and reinstated him to the post of commissioner in March 1949. Callahan had always dreamed of managing a few large projects, and was eager to have Route 128 completed during his tenure. To his great surprise, Callahan, this time round, was blessed with strong political backing and abundant financial support. Statistically, a total of $400 million highway construction fund was passed by the state legislature between the years 1949 and 1952.
During his new term, Callahan mainly planned and constructed two high-budget projects: the Boston Central Artery, which would cut through downtown, and the unfinished new Route 128. The former gained universal support, as people believed that a central expressway would significantly ease the downtown congestion. In stark contrast, Route 128 was exposed to ruthless criticism and doubts, while positive responses were few and far between. The major reason for objection was, “What is the point of spending the hugest sum of money in the road history of the Commonwealth to build ‘a road to nowhere’ in the sparsely populated and poor rural area? ” Confronted with various interrogations and censures, Callahan insisted, “This new highway will bring about the relocation of business establishments and open new residential sections. ” Just like that, the construction of Route 128 resumed in early 1950. Of course, Callahan conceded to reduce the original plan of a six-lane highway to four-lane. Once again, Callahan showed his competence and efficiency: he selected the route to be along the outskirts of town centers where demolition work was relatively light, and subcontracted the project to nine small constructors. The work went under way with a fanfare, and eighteen months later, on August 23, 1951, Governor Dever cut the ribbon for the 22-mile north section of the new highway.
The new section of Route 128 swiftly cleared all the accusations that had previously surrounded Callahan. On the opening day, certain portion of the highway witnessed 18,000 vehicles traveling by, and the number increased to 26,000 vehicles per day by 1954. After Callahan left office, the widening of the northern section from four lanes to six lanes soon began under the leadership of his successor, followed by the construction of the southern portion of the highway. Such results disproved the judgment of one of the most authoritative experts on transportation, chief Thomas MacDonald at the Federal Bureau of Public Goods. MacDonald had predicted that 15,000 vehicles per day on the highway would be an optimistic estimate for 1970. The Boston Central Artery project of Callahan’s was much less fortunate, however. Shortly after the road was put into full operation, many troubles ensued. Separating old downtown Boston, the project caused great damages to historic landscape of the city and generated negative impacts on urban commercial activities, thereby incurring lots of complaints from the residents. Worse still, the Central Artery quickly turned out to be the most congested road in the city, putting huge pressure on the transportation situation and environmental improvement. It got such nicknames as “the Distressway,” “the largest parking lot in the world,” and “Green Monster.” Although the artery was initially named after the paternal grandfather of President Kennedy as “John F. Fitzgerald Expressway,” it could not escape the fate of being demolished. In the “Big Dig” project of the 1990s, the expressway was torn down and moved to the underground.
Callahan’s whole life was inseparable from Massachusetts’ public transportation. Upon leaving Massachusetts Department of Public Works in 1952, he served as Chairman of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority until his death in 1964. In 1961, a new underground tunnel beneath Boston harbor opened. It was named “Lieutenant William F. Callahan Tunnel” (commonly known as the Callahan Tunnel), a tribute to Callahan’s son who was killed in action in Italy just a few days before World War II ended. What a tragic loss! Every time I travel in the Callahan Tunnel en route to Logan International Airport, sadness and respect well up in my heart: Callahan and his son should be remembered now and by future generations for what they achieved and sacrificed.
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The rapid increase in traffic flow of Route 128 only partially realized Callahan’s prophecy. The subsequent commercial development activities helped him earn greater recognition. In 1948, the young and optimistic Blakeley became a new employee of Cabot, Cabot & Forbes. When he was studying the 1948 Master Highway Plan for the Boston Metropolitan Area, he noticed that a proposed Inner Belt project would link Route 128 with Cambridge and in particular, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, thereby enabling a convenient access to areas along Route 128 from MIT and vice versa. Who does not want to be close to MIT? Blakeley pondered, and a tremendous business plan gradually took shape in his mind. I mentioned in my previous blog the interactions between MIT and Boston area’s regional economic development since the later part of World War II. In fact, the Bay state’s economy was going through a profound transformation at that time, despite its apparent recession. Light industry, garment, leather, machinery and alike were being outsourced to areas rich in energe resources and cheaper labor. The high-tech industry was still in its infancy and new industries driven by science and technology were seeking new space for development. MIT and Harvard’s strong research capabilities attracted new industries and R& D bases to settle in their vicinity. The areas along Route 128 possessed not only open space and inexpensive land, but also a large pool of unemployed workers with technical proficiency- left behind with the migration of traditional industries. Such a golden opportunity was not to escape Blakeley’s shrewd eyes. He recalled sneaking into the bathroom late one night and scribbling down a blueprint for broad commercial development around Route 128. In his plan, campus -like research facilities, offices and plants would be scattered along Route 128’s alignment, all with easy automobile access to MIT and downtown Boston. Blakeley also came up with a revolutionary model for the delivery of such projects. It is called the “package procurement” model, which can not only secure the maximum interest of his company, but also guarantee debt financing for the clients. Blakeley’s idea was quickly approved of and enacted by the top managers of Cabot, Cabot & Forbes, who took an active role in lobbying municipal governments to modify their local zoning so as to accommodate commercial uses. The lobbying was met with little opposition and projects carried out smoothly. It was not long before people witnessed the birth of a brand new industrial park, New England Industrial center in Needham, together with a novel business development model.
Soon enough, companies like Sylvania, Canada Dry, Clevite, and Polanoid came and built up offices and plants in the area. Between 1950 and 1957, Route 128 welcomed a total of nearly $100 million capital investment. The road once ridiculed as “Callahan’s folly” attracted $500 million within one decade. In 1955, there were 53 businesses along Route 128. The figure soared to 223 in 1959 and 729 in 1967, with 66,000 employed workers. The land price too had risen from the initial $450 per acre to $ 5000 per acre by 1957. In 1959, the Boston Globe issued a fair comment: “The Road to Nowhere has now become the hub of everything”. Non-surprisingly, Cabot, Cabot & Forbes rapidly grew from a local firm to one of the most renowned national real estate development company. Blakeley himself became one of its leaders, and was acknowledged as the father of modern industrial park. It did not take him long to join the billionaires’ club.
In the 1970s, the cluster effects of the high-tech industries along Route 128 began to gradually manifest themselves. During the second and third terms of governor Michael Dukakis (1983 to 1991), “Massachusetts Miracle” became a catchword. 128’s prestige reached its peak with the settling in of famous corporations and research institutes like the Wang Laboratory, Some media even claimed that “Route 128 opens America’s high-tech age.” Since the 1950s when the construction of the major portion of Route 128 first started, thirty years had passed before the Massachusetts economy finally ushered in a new round of prosperity, jointly achieved by government agencies, businesses and research institutes.
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If time could stop for a while in the 1980s, we see, through Route 128, not only a “miracle” created by high-tech development, but a classical case of benign interactions between infrastructure construction and commercial development. It was thanks to the vision and perseverance, insightfulness and patience, dedication and diligence, of all levels of government officials as well as all types of entrepreneurs, that an ordinary municipal project could have grown into a success story of regional development. From the 1990s till the present, countless new miracles have taken place on the “roller coaster” of the Massachusetts economy. When exploring the causes behind all that has happened, one finds bits of luck and serendipity, but more importantly, a materialized form of entrepreneurship and innovative spirit.
The terms “entrepreneur” and “entrepreneurship” are often used interchangeably in western economics and management science. In recent years, scholarly translation and introduction have made them no longer foreign to both academia and business community in China. Notably, since the beginning of the 20th century, the various qualities and characteristics typical of entrepreneurs have been seen in diverse fields, and entrepreneurship has spilled over to governments, social organizations and non-profit institutes. As highlighted in Schumpeter’s definition of “innovation,” the soul of “entrepreneurship” is closely related to innovation, risk-taking, aggressiveness and responsibility. The people we just introduced, Dever, Callahan and Blakeley, were all great entrepreneurs ready and determined to “innovate,” and they all contributed to the promotion of “entrepreneurship.” In this sense, we do call for businessmen, politicians and scholars to embrace the spirit of “entrepreneurship,” whatever endeavor they choose to pursue.
Route 128 had been busy even since it first opened. According to Boston Metropolitan Planning Organization, the daily traffic volume on the route had reached 200,000 by 2010. In rush hours, the congestion can get extremely bad and the air would be filled with all kinds of complaints and horns. At such times, I cannot help but think of the “traffic jam prosperity” theory put forward by Mr. Liu Wei, professor of Economics from Peking University, which I believe may be able to soothe some of the most impatient drivers. The highway too reminds me from time to time of the multiple industrial projects along the highways of Beijing I had worked hard to advocate and advance as mayor and party chief of Changping District: the Future City of Science and Technology, the Zhongguancun Base of Engineering and Technological Innovation, the Life and Science Park, and the Shahe Higher Education Park, among others that formed the Corridor of Northern Beijing High-Tech Industrial Innovation. I have every faith that these projects will bring popularity and crowd, together with the hope of prosperity and progress!
Recently I read an article in the Boston Globe, which was about young workers in Massachusetts showing renewed interest in the colorful urban life and inclination to start businesses or look for jobs in downtown. Such a new trend has led a number of start-up companies to choose their sites and some enterprises along Route 128 to establish branches in the old city. What impacts would this have on the industrial parks along Route 128 and Interstate 495? Will new infrastructure and commercial development projects emerge as a result? It is still too early to tell. Yet there is one thing that we know for sure: the vast traffic with “the spirit of America” engraved on the license plates shall take the Massachusetts economy on to the next route of rationality and maturity.
References:
Bureau of Research and Statistics, Massachusetts Department of Commerce and Development. “Listing of Firms along Route 128.” Boston, 1965.
Earls, Alan R. Route 128 and the Birth of the Age of High Tech. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, c2002.
Hogarty, Richard A. “The Paradox of Public Authorities in Massachusetts: Massport and Masspike.” New England Journal of Public Policy 12.2 (2002): 18-37.
Kenney, Charles and Robert L. Turner. Dukakis: An American Odyssey. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1988.
Mass Moments. Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities. August 22, 2012. <http://www.massmoments.org/moment.cfm?mid=246>
Rosegrant, Susan and David R. Lampe. Route 128: Lessons from Boston’s High-tech Community. New York: Basic Books, c1992.
Saxenian, Annalee. Regional Advantage: Culture and Competition in Silicon Valley and Route 128. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1994.
Tsipis, Yanni and David Kruh. Building Route 128. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, c2003.
A Chinese version of the article can be found at Sina Financial and Economics Blog.
