The bridge's unique styling quickly became an icon for Boston, often featured in the backdrop of national news channels, to establish location, and included on tourist souvenirs.

The main portion of the Zakim Bridge carries four lanes each way (northbound and southbound) of Interstate 93 (concurrent with U.S. Route 1) between the Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill Jr.

I-93 heads toward New Hampshire as the "Northern Expressway", and US 1 splits from the Interstate and travels northeast toward Massachusetts' North Shore communities, crossing the Mystic River via the Tobin Bridge.

I knew him a little bit during the last year of his life, he was one of those people whose, intensity, inner spirit you could feel even when he was very ill, ... we honor his memory obviously not with this beautiful bridge, very lovely, but by continuing on in his fight for social justice.

"[9] Placement of footings for the Zakim Bridge required environmental permits to relocate areas of open water surface, changing the contour of the Charles River shoreline.