--- title: Sponge-Jet Cleans the Old Face of Longfellow (Granite Restoration) description: The granite restoration portion of the Longfellow Bridge project in Boston, MA (USA) is nearing completion. 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Missing deadlines can be costly to bridge owners, operators and contractors, and ultimately to those who rely on them for daily transportation. For example, 118,600 cars and mass-transit passengers rely on timely passage from Cambridge to Boston, MA (USA) each week over the historic Longfellow Bridge. In the summer of 2013, the clock started on a $255 million project to replace structural elements and restore the bridge’s historical character. The [granite restoration](https://blog.spongejet.com/dustless-granite-stone-restoration-is-possible-with-sponge-jet) portion of the Longfellow Bridge project in Boston, MA is nearing completion. Sponge Media™ micro-abrasives were chosen by [United Stone](http://www.unitedstoneandsite.com/) [and Site, Inc.](http://www.unitedstoneandsite.com/), the contractor that won the bid to clean the large blocks. The large scale granite restoration project included [onsite blasting](https://youtu.be/n6Wk9Vj_7nw), as well as dismantling of the bridge’s iconic Rockport granite “salt and pepper” towers piece-by-piece, and then transport them to nearby work yards in Charlestown via barge. Once the tower's slabs reached the work yard, they were blast-cleaned with [Silver 80 Sponge Media](https://www.spongejet.com/product/silver-80-sponge-media/) to ![Granite_Blast_Sample.jpg](https://blog.spongejet.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Granite_Blast_Sample.jpg?width=320&name=Granite_Blast_Sample.jpg)remove graffiti, dirt, efflorescence, and environmental contaminants that accumulated in the 110 years since their original installation. [This video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6Wk9Vj_7nw) shows the return of the stone’s original finish during the project’s first phase. The Longfellow Bridge did undergo a smaller restoration in 1959, but the scale of the current restoration is much larger. United Stone and Site was able to achieve the desired cleanliness/finish of the granite while maintaining production speeds of 27m²/hr (5ft²/min). Sustaining the cleaning rate was critical to returning the massive blocks for installation on time, and was achievable with one blaster. Sponge-Jet was chosen as the method of restoration for a number of reasons. United Stone and Site’s work yard in residential Charlestown, MA is on the Charles River - ideal for transporting large granite blocks by barge, but poses a great challenge for containing dust and runoff. Containing run-off and added leachates associated with wet processes like acid-washing and chemical-stripping would not be possible in such a close proximity to the river bank. Containing and recycling the dry sponge abrasive after multiple uses was also a major cost-saving benefit. By using Sponge Media, United Stone and Site estimates they have saved nearly 30% of the cost of traditional wet-abrasive and chemical restoration methods. Jeff Hartwell, VP, Operations for [United Stone and Site Inc.](http://www.unitedstoneandsite.com/) said, “The Sponge-Jet system has worked great for us on the Longfellow Bridge and other projects. Once initial setup is in place, the system can do its job with a two-man crew depending on access. You can’t say enough about the eco-friendly aspect of the Sponge Media. All in all you would have to force us to go back to acidic cleaners or conventional bucket and brush-cleaning.” For more information on the Longfellow Bridge Project, see these articles below: [Mass DOT About this Project - The Longfellow Bridge](http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/charlesriverbridges/LongfellowBridge.aspx) [Boston Globe - Contractors take Longfellow Bridge to the Past](https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/05/20/longfellow-bridge-old-techniques-pose-new-challenges/2FlqRbhtWxuGGPa0OKWhCO/story.html)  ![IMG_1888.jpg](https://blog.spongejet.com/hs-fs/hubfs/IMG_1888.jpg?width=640&name=IMG_1888.jpg)     - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) [Historic Restoration](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/historic-restoration) [Granite](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/granite) [Case Histories](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/case-histories) Search this site on Google Search Google ### Categories - [Case Histories (41)](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/case-histories) - [Historic Restoration (35)](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/historic-restoration) - [Tech-Terminal (35)](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/tech_terminal) - [Executive View (23)](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/executive-view) - [Lead Abatement (22)](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/lead-abatement) - [Application Station (21)](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/application-station) - [Cleaning (18)](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/cleaning) - [OSHA (12)](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/osha) - [Safety First (12)](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/safety-first) - [corrosion (12)](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/corrosion) - [Stone Restoration (10)](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/stone-restoration) - [Dustless Blasting (8)](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/dustless-blasting) - [Fire Damage (7)](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/fire-damage) - [Marine Industry (7)](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/marine-industry) - [Robotica (7)](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/robotica) - [Granite (5)](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/granite) - [Coal Slag (4)](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/coal-slag) - [Robotic Abrasive Blasting (2)](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/robotic-abrasive-blasting) - [Railcar (1)](https://blog.spongejet.com/topic/railcar) see all ### Recent Posts ### Sign up for our blog. ![](https://blog.spongejet.com/hubfs/Spongejet-Oct2015-Theme/Images/find-rep-bg.png) ![](https://blog.spongejet.com/hubfs/Spongejet-Oct2015-Theme/Images/find-rep-img.png) [Distributor Locator](https://www.spongejet.com/find-rep/) ![](https://blog.spongejet.com/hubfs/Spongejet-Oct2015-Theme/Images/white-paper-bg.png) ![](https://blog.spongejet.com/hubfs/Spongejet-Oct2015-Theme/Images/white-paper-img.png) [Resources](https://www.spongejet.com/support/resources-support/resource-library/?k=&type=document-library&document-type%5B%5D=24&searchsubmit=Search+resource) ![](https://blog.spongejet.com/hubfs/Spongejet-Oct2015-Theme/Images/online-traing-bg.png) ![](https://blog.spongejet.com/hubfs/Spongejet-Oct2015-Theme/Images/online-traing-img.png) [Online Training](https://www.mytestcom.net/app/myTestcomURL.cfm?accountLogin=SpongeJet123&joinPasscode=SpongeJet123) [![spongejet](https://blog.spongejet.com/hubfs/Spongejet-Oct2015-Theme/Images/logo.png)](https://www.spongejet.com/) - - - - - [+1 603-610-7950](tel:+1-603-610-7950) - [Contact us](https://www.spongejet.com/contact/) Phone: +1 603-610-7950 | 14 Patterson Lane, Newington, NH 03801 USA - [© 2015 Sponge-Jet, Inc.](https://www.spongejet.com/copyright-info/) - [Contact](https://www.spongejet.com/contact/) - [Support](https://www.spongejet.com/support/) - [Privacy Policy](https://www.spongejet.com/privacy-policy/) - [Terms & Conditions](https://www.spongejet.com/terms-conditions/)