The Union Square department of the Green Line will shut down for six weeks this summer time, the most recent in a sequence of service diversions that one transit advocate says have been poorly executed by the MBTA.
Train service between Lechmere and Union Square stations, a part of a Green Line Extension challenge that was accomplished final December, might be suspended from July 18 to Aug. 28, to permit for “critical repair work” by MassDOT on the Squires Bridge, the MBTA mentioned in a Thursday assertion.
The diversion, considered one of a number of development tasks impacting Green Line service this summer time, is critical, the T mentioned, as a result of the bridge “crosses over tracks near Union Square station.”
Jarred Johnson, government director of TransitMatters, sharply criticized the most recent extended shutdown, saying in a Thursday tweet, “It’s past time for the Healey administration to be transparent about WTF the Baker administration was doing with the $8 billion in capital funds spent to have a system so degraded.”
“What happened during the (Orange Line) shutdown?” Johnson added. “Was the GLX opening rushed so that Baker could open it during his tenure?”
In an interview, Johnson mentioned riders are owed a proof as as to whether the work that might be carried out over the following two months might have been integrated into the Green Line Extension challenge.
“People have a total lack of trust in the agency,” Johnson mentioned. “The T’s diversions have not been good. The T does not run good service on connecting lines. The T has poor signage and information, and when it comes to these diversions, also, people have no faith that it’s actually going to end on Aug. 28.”
The MBTA deferred remark to MassDOT spokesperson Jacquelyn Goddard, who mentioned the upcoming work on Squires Bridge is a part of a “MassDOT Highway Division 4 project.”
“The scope of work is to perform repairs to specific localized areas of six steel beams that have deteriorated and need to be addressed to maintain the structural capacity of Squires Bridge,” Goddard mentioned in an announcement. “The location of the overhead catenary systems on the underside of the bridge for the Green Line Extension conflicts with the repair locations.”
In order to carry out the repairs, Goddard mentioned development crews must de-energize and quickly transfer the catenary system out of the best way, “to allow MassDOT’s contractor safe and uninterrupted access.”
“Through the collaborative planning of MassDOT Highway and the MBTA, the duration of the overall effort is projected to require six weeks of diversion,” Goddard mentioned.
Johnson estimated that by the point this diversion is over, elements of the Green Line Extension, which stretches to Union Square in Somerville and Tufts University in Medford, could have been closed for roughly 100 days.
During final summer time’s 30-day Orange Line shutdown, the Green Line was closed for 4 weeks between Government Center and Union Square stations. Earlier this month, the T diverted service on each GLX branches for 2 weekends.
The diversions, which have turn out to be extra frequent because the T works to adjust to federal directives that pointed to years of uncared for observe upkeep, are pushing individuals off of public transit and into automobiles, and impacting their housing selections, Johnson mentioned.
This explicit closure additionally represents a “radical shift” from prior diversions, by way of the MBTA not providing various bus shuttle service, Johnson mentioned.
This provides to the confusion skilled by riders, a lot of whom don’t verify the T’s web site or social media pages usually, and subsequently aren’t typically conscious of plans to implement diversions on their typical routes, he added.
The MBTA is telling riders to take common bus service in the course of the 42-day closure. Those heading from Union Square station can board Route 86 at Somerville Avenue and Route 91 on Prospect Street, from the Union Square to East Somerville station areas for continued service on the Medford/Tufts department.
Green Line riders headed to Union Square station can as a substitute board Medford/Tufts department service to East Somerville station, after which make the most of Route 86 and 91 bus service at Washington and Tufts streets, to get to the Union Square space.
Commuters can even take Route 87 bus service by boarding at Lechmere station, and exiting within the Union Square space at Somerville and Stone avenues, the T mentioned.
The diversion is considered one of a number of that may affect service on the Green Line in July and August.
The T reiterated final week’s announcement that B Branch service between Kenmore and Boston College stations might be shut down for 12 days, from July 17-28, whereas development crews restore a stretch of faulty observe that led to a derailment earlier this month.
Trolley service will even be suspended between Boston University East and Haymarket stations on the B Branch, Saint Mary’s Street and Haymarket stations on the C Branch, Fenway and North stations on the D Branch, and Heath Street and North stations on the E Branch, from July 15-16.
Further, the continued demolition of the Government Center Garage will droop Green Line service between North and Government Center stations, from July 29 to Aug. 9, the T mentioned.
Orange Line trains will bypass Haymarket station throughout that point.
The T can also be planning night diversions on the Red Line, between JFK/UMass and North Quincy stations, from July 11-13 and July 20; and between JFK/UMass and Braintree stations on July 21 and the weekend of July 22-23 to handle velocity restrictions.
A T spokesperson mentioned, “The MBTA apologizes for the inconvenience of these scheduled service changes, and appreciates the understanding and patience of riders as this critical work to maintain, upgrade and modernize the system takes place.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”