MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng stated velocity restrictions might stay in place on the Blue Line till the top of November, however work to remove them may very well be accelerated by shutting down service earlier on weeknights.
Eng stated Wednesday that the T is planning to raise seven of the 21 present velocity restrictions on the Blue Line by the top of May, by suspending service at 7 p.m. on April 24-27 and May 1-4.
He informed the Board of Directors that the T was contemplating shutting down the road every night time at 7 for a month to raise the remaining velocity restrictions, “saying that we could take that work down from six month’s time period to a one-month time period, and that’s what we’re proposing to do.”
However, the MBTA later walked again that assertion, with a spokesperson stating that “his verbal remarks intended to show that this work could be accomplished within one month during evening diversions that start at 7 p.m., not for the entirety of one consecutive month.”
“There are additional opportunities for evening Blue Line diversions that the MBTA is exploring beyond these dates that will be announced once finalized, but the T will not shut down service for an entire month in the evenings,” an MBTA spokesperson stated.
Rather, in keeping with the spokesperson, Eng’s remarks have been referring to the 2 diversions in late April and early May, the place earlier observe entry at 7 p.m. would speed up the removing of seven velocity restrictions from Bowdoin to Aquarium, leaving this space slow-zone free.
That work would have in any other case taken six months with typical in a single day observe entry from 1-3 a.m., or two months if these diversions began at 9 p.m., one other time-frame that had been on the desk, an MBTA spokesperson stated. In this case, crews could have seven hours of observe entry every night time on these dates.
As of Wednesday, 43% or 5.4 miles of Blue Line observe was speed-restricted, an enchancment from March 16 when 77% of the road was lined in gradual zones. But present numbers characterize a big uptick from March 1, when solely 2% or 0.2 miles have been speed-restricted, in keeping with MBTA information.
Eng stated upcoming building will deal with 69 observe defects on the Blue Line. Next steps embody speaking future weeknight shutdowns to the general public, which understands that diversions are essential, he stated, and that “we have a lot of work to do.”
“Ultimately, we are looking to remove all of the speed restrictions no later than November,” Eng stated. “Right now, the team is still considering opportunities to progress this work and accelerate this further.”
The Red Line will probably be focused subsequent, in keeping with Eng, who plans to share a timeline for when velocity restrictions on the subway system’s slowest line will probably be eliminated “shortly.”
Work schedules are additionally being formulated for the Green and Orange traces, he stated.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”