Less than five months after part of the Green Line Extension began operations, the MBTA is announcing plans to close the tracks for four weeks and delaying the opening of a new branch. Green Line service in both directions between Government Center and Union Square will be replaced by free shuttle buses from Aug. 22 through Sept. 18, the MBTA announced Friday. Officials said the disruption is necessary to allow for work at the Government Center Garage project. Scheduled projects during this time include overhead wire adjustments on the East Cambridge Viaduct that will eliminate a speed restriction, installation of sound barriers and testing of track and communication infrastructure. Also Friday, MBTA officials pushed the start date of the Green Line Extension’s Medford Branch back to late November. It was originally expected to open in late summer. It’s another blow for riders in Medford who are also impacted by the MBTA’s plan to shut down the whole Orange Line for 30 days of maintenance and repair work starting at 9 pm on Aug. 19. ” Much of the work to be performed during the diversion in service from August 22 to September 18 is tied to the opening of the Medford Branch,” officials wrote in a statement. “The start date has also been affected by the availability of Safety and Operational support crews that were previously prioritized for GLX, but are now re-allocated to other critical MBTA construction work, including in the MBTA’s response to the Federal Transit Administration’s Safety Management Inspection directives.”At a recent MBTA Board of Directors meeting, members voted unanimously to authorize a deal worth up to $37 million with Yankee Line Inc. to provide shuttle buses during the Orange and Green Line projects. Federal Transit Administration issued four multifaceted directives in June after completing a safety review of the system. It issued an additional order for a “safety standdown” in July, impacting all employees who work with disabled rail vehicles in the T’s maintenance facilities and rail yards. Among the issues identified by the FTA in June were backlogs of thousands of known defects related to the rail infrastructure and a shorthanded Operations Control Center.
Less than five months after part of the Green Line Extension began operations, the MBTA is announcing plans to close the tracks for four weeks and delaying the opening of a new branch.
Green Line service in both directions between Government Center and Union Square will be replaced by free shuttle buses from Aug. 22 through Sept. 18, the MBTA announced Friday. Officials said the disruption is necessary to allow for work at the Government Center Garage project.
Scheduled projects during this time include overhead wire adjustments on the East Cambridge Viaduct that will eliminate a speed restriction, installation of sound barriers and testing of track and communication infrastructure.
Also Friday, MBTA officials pushed the start date of the Green Line Extension’s Medford Branch back to late November. It was originally expected to open in late summer.
It’s another blow for riders in Medford who are also impacted by the MBTA’s plan to shut down the whole Orange Line for 30 days of maintenance and repair work starting at 9 pm on Aug. 19.
“Much of the work to be performed during the diversion in service from August 22 to September 18 is tied to the opening of the Medford Branch,” officials wrote in a statement. “The start date has also been affected by the availability of Safety and Operational support crews that were previously prioritized for GLX, but are now re-allocated to other critical MBTA construction work, including in the MBTA’s response to the Federal Transit Administration’s Safety Management Inspection directives.”
At a recent MBTA Board of Directors meeting, members voted unanimously to authorize a deal worth up to $37 million with Yankee Line Inc. to provide shuttle buses during the Orange and Green Line projects.
Federal Transit Administration issued four multifaceted directives in June after completing a safety review of the system. It issued an additional order for a “safety standdown” in July, impacting all employees who work with disabled rail vehicles in the T’s maintenance facilities and rail yards.
Among the issues identified by the FTA in June were backlogs of thousands of known defects related to the rail infrastructure and a shorthanded Operations Control Center.
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