, and Fourth-of-July fireworks-watchers were banned from the bridge because of concerns that the bridge might collapse under the weight and vibration of heavy use. The speed restriction was lifted in August 2008, and the lane and sidewalk were reopened later on. On August 4, 2008, Governor Deval Patrick signed into law a $3 billion Massachusetts bridge repair funding package he had sponsored. The funds raised from the sale of bonds were used to pay for the rehabilitation of the Longfellow Bridge, the preliminary cost estimated at $267.5 million. If bridge maintenance had instead been performed regularly, the total estimated historical cost would have been about $81 million. Design began in Spring 2005; construction was expected to begin in Spring 2012 and end in Spring 2016. Ownership and management of the overhaul was transferred from the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) to the new Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) on November 1, 2009, along with other DCR bridges. The condition of the bridge was determined to be so bad that the state could not wait for development of a full restoration plan. A $17 million contract was signed with SPS New England Inc for interim repairs. Crews began work in August 2010 that involved improving sidewalks on the approaches to bring them up to ADA compliance. In March 2011, crews began structural inspections for Phase II and cleaning of the stone masonry piers. MassDOT announced in May 2011 that work would begin on stripping and cleaning rust from steel arch ribbons that had not been painted since 1953. Crews were to apply paint primer to the arch ribbons and evaluate them for future major rehabilitation. All work was expected to be completed by December 2011. Major reconstruction project A $255 million project started construction in the summer of 2013 to replace structural elements of the bridge, and restore its historic character. The project was expected to require at least 25 weekend shutdowns of MBTA Red Line subway service to accommodate construction, including multiple temporary relocations of the rapid transit tracks. Outbound road traffic (from Boston to Cambridge) was to be detoured from the bridge for all three years of expected construction. A single lane of inbound traffic was expected to be available for the duration of the project, potentially restricted to buses-only at certain hours. A computer animation movie released by MassDOT showed the complex six-stage rehabilitation process in