The bridge opened in 1809, and came to be known as Craigie's Bridge. The construction of the bridge prompted the laying out of roads to the center of Cambridge (now Cambridge Street, running to Harvard Square) and Somerville/Medford (Bridge Street, now Monsignor O'Brien Highway/Massachusetts Route 28). Craigie and associates, who formed the Lechemere Point Corporation, benefited from the building boom that followed, spurred on by their efforts to expand the public street grid. Residential cross streets were constructed and some were named after investors (Otis, Thorndike, and Gore). The bridge was sold to the Hancock Free Bridge Corporation in 1846, and became toll-free on January 30, 1858.