City Councillor Alice K. Wolf says the city's lawsuit is not active now but technically remains alive so the city can "always have recourse to go back to the courts in case the state does not do what it promises."

Wolf adds that although the city has not officially endorsed 8.1D, the final draft of the Bridge Design committee's new plan should be approved by the city and the state within the next year.

The Bridge Design Committee was originally formed by outgoing Secretary of Environmental Affairs John P. DeVillars in January 1991 to make Scheme Z more aesthetically pleasing.

The committee went beyond the mandate, scrapping Scheme Z and voting to replace the controversial plan with another proposal to link Interstate 93 and the Central Artery.

To opponents of Scheme Z, this expected settlement signals the beginning of the end--the specter of a colossal elevated highway is no longer a threat.

And many activists are now praising themselves for organizing a unified opposition to stop the interchange.

Says McManus, "Had we not raised hell, they would have built Scheme Z."

Cantabrigians maintain that the smaller bridges of 8.1D (far left) will avoid much of the negative environmental impact of the 16-lane Scheme Z interchange (near left).