When Cambridge resident Mark Jaquith walked by North Point Park Wednesday morning, ugly construction fences still barricaded the place, just as they had for the past two years. But by 4 p.m. when Jaquith walked home from work, the fences had disappeared.
Just like that, North Point Park, the largest of all the Big Dig's open space projects, was open to the public - no fanfare, no announcement, not even a welcome sign.
That was fine by Jaquith, who, along with many other Charles River enthusiasts, had waited eons for the seemingly finished park on the banks of the river, plagued by construction gaffes and delays, to finally open.
"Me and a couple of the other parents at the local bus stop were talking about going there to have a snowball fight," Jaquith said before Thursday's storm.
"It's everything as promised. It's very nice."
The $31 million park, which was constructed by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority's Central Artery Project as an environmental mitigation measure, was supposed to have opened in the summer of 2005. Officials pledged last month that the final obstacle - 1,500 feet of metal railing along the water's edge that was not up to specs and had to be replaced - would be overcome by mid-December. This time, they were on the mark.
"We'll have some official celebration this spring when the tulips are coming up, but we wanted to make it accessible to the public now," said Wendy Fox, spokeswoman for the Department of Conservation and Recreation, which will manage the park.
A few minor fixes will be addressed this month, weather permitting, Fox said. Otherwise, the 8.5-acre park, which includes huge swaths of grass, bike trails, a children's tot lot, is there for the masses. Let the snowballs fly.
PETER DEMARCO
