MBTA Construction Projects

Re: T construction news

The Newton Centre example isn't really an example of an in station merchant in my opinion, as it's across the street. I'm not sure whether the MBTA even owns that building, though it probably did at one time.

I think he's referring to the one in the station building itself, now the Station Diner (it was directly upstairs from the platform, not across the street). The T does own that building.
 
Re: T construction news

I think he's referring to the one in the station building itself, now the Station Diner (it was directly upstairs from the platform, not across the street). The T does own that building.

Yes, it USED to be a Starbucks before the diner. (.....when I lived in Newton prior to moving to Scituate in 2006.) I think Cafe Nero is in the Wellesley Hills Commuter Rail Station, but I haven't visited yet.

In my opinion, EVERY station should have a coffee shop of any variety! :-D
 
Re: T construction news

I’m not in Harvard Square station that often, and just found that busway renovation has begun. The upper busway is now closed, and it looks as if they have removed the long-dark Kepes stained glass window.

Does anyone know if they are planning to repair and replace the work, or if it being de-installed permanently? Before it went dark, I always thought it was one of the more successful pieces in the Arts on the Line project.
 
Re: T construction news

Lowering rebar for pylons around the new Lechmere station, around July 31st.

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Re: T construction news

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Above is the land-clearing for the Haverhill Line's new layover yard on Hilldale Ave. near the NH state line. Last month it was quietly reported that the T was finally going along with 2 decades of abutter lobbying to relocate out of the substandard Bradford layover space, which is far too small to support any increased service levels and has inadequate noise and emission buffer from the adjacent residential neighborhood. A budget was approved for acquiring new property, but at the time we didn't know where.

Now we do. It's "Alternative 6" from the Plaistow extension study--the only layover option that was in MA instead of NH--except flipped to the other side of the tracks so the access driveway can go on Hilldale Ave. instead of across the state line to NH 126 where Town of Atkinson, NH would surely block. The area is pure 1970's industrial park with very widely separated buildings; absolutely no abutters to bother. Atkinson will probably assemble a citizen's militia to storm the border in opposition, but they can't touch this from across the state line (not even on a fumes/noise claim, because they're just not close enough proximity to it to make a plausible EPA claim).

The surprising thing is how stealthy they were not only in acquiring the vacant property but also doing the prelim land-clearing. As far as I can tell the FCMB has never said a peep about this, and we don't even know if there's construction funding secured beyond the ongoing land-clearing. No track schematics available either (if they've even been drafted yet) telling how much capacity the new layover will have. If it's as big as Newburyport and Westminster--pretty much the standard size for new construction--it should allow for substantial Haverhill service increases (albeit probably by supplemental Lowell Line+Wildcat trains as Reading Line capacity is pretty tapped out). Additionally, with Bradford being vacated that station gains the ability to be rebuilt as full-highs with passing tracks by repurposing the old yard tracks for space. Passing tracks there would do enormous good at staging meets and overtakes of Downeasters and freights right before the bridge.

Oh yes, and the T still owns the station property for Rosemont St., a stop that was slated to be built for 1981 until a severe budget crisis canceled it. Rosemont's 2-1/3 miles north of Haverhill Station, and 2/3 mile south of this new layover. It would limit the non-revenue mileage to/from Haverhill Station while offering up a good catchment of its own in a part of town that's inaccessible to Haverhill Station. Residential to the west, MA 125 and MVRTA bus Route 13 a couple thousand feet East. And the 495 interchange is about 1500 ft. south of the intersection with MA 125. The available station real estate would only hold a small parking lot, but the enormous 350,000 sq. feet auto junkyard next door would serve up superb TOD and more parking capacity.

Let's see if they end up feeling as stealth about the station property they already own as the layover property they've only owned for a few weeks.
 
Re: T construction news

Recently told the layover yard will be a bit smaller than Westminster/Newburyport. And supposedly Bradford Yard reverts back to PAR (as in the deed) if vacated. We'll see.
 
Re: T construction news

Finally saw some renders for the new Chelsea commuter rail station floating around, apparently construction has already started with completion expected 2021.

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Re: T construction news

Why does that station render remind me so much of the Dire Straits "Money for Nothing" video? :???:

MoneyforNothing01.png8302ab37-3ab3-4bde-8a6e-1db6269c8050Original.jpg



C'mon, contractor people!...it's time to upgrade your 1985 Silicon Graphics UNIX workstation. Even my phone can do splines now.
 
Re: T construction news

F-Line, thank you so much for posting the update on the Haverhill line's new layover yard.

It is also good news that it may be a Massachusetts town that gets a new stop thanks to this little extension.

Assuming the yard will have enough layovers and shore power to provision a Haverhill expansion, does the MBTA already have enough rolling stock to actually expand the Haverhill schedule?
 
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Re: T construction news

F-Line, thank you so much for posting the update on the Haverhill line's new layover yard.

It is also good news that it may be a Massachusetts town that gets a new stop thanks to this little extension.

Assuming the yard will have enough layovers and shore power to provision a Haverhill expansion, does the MBTA already have enough rolling stock to actually expand the Haverhill schedule?


The inadequate layover was the biggest remaining bottleneck to schedule expansion with completion of the double-track project. You wouldn't be talking anything huge because Downeaster and freights still throw up interference, but it's enough to cycle sets more efficiently and recycle a couple trainsets that otherwise would be lost to deadheading to/from Somerville. Schedule rebalancing to even out the headway gaps would help, and there'd be opportunity to add a rush hour extra or two...which they can probably do with existing sets.


More substantial expansion does require fleet increases, finishing the Ballardvale/Andover second platforms, and probably double-tracking the Wildcat since all increases would be coming that way.
 
Re: T construction news

F-Line, how sure are you that the picture you attached is the land clearing for the new Haverhill yard? That might be for something else, potentially..
 
Re: T construction news

F-Line, how sure are you that the picture you attached is the land clearing for the new Haverhill yard? That might be for something else, potentially..

Nope. NErail photo from someone with MBTA permission to shoot onsite. And poster GP40MC, a northside CR employee impeccable about internal matters, confirms it in the very next post. That is the relocated layover site.
 
Re: T construction news

^ The YIMBY in me is so happy to see this moving ahead, even if it means extra Express trains from Haverhill/Anderson come through the West Medford High St crossing without stopping.
 
Re: T construction news

Nope. NErail photo from someone with MBTA permission to shoot onsite. And poster GP40MC, a northside CR employee impeccable about internal matters, confirms it in the very next post. That is the relocated layover site.

Interesting. Someone I know asked about the project and they were told it wasn't CR related. They must've confused the site based off the picture with somewhere else, I guess.
 
Re: T construction news

Why is it "Chelsea Station" and not just "Chelsea"?
 
Re: T construction news

Why is it "Chelsea Station" and not just "Chelsea"?

I suspect when it's actually built it will be just Chelsea, a lot of the architects don't really know or care about all the many MBTA wayfinding rules and they make the renders, but the signs are always manufactured by the MBTA Sign Shop according to their specs at the end of the day, while the placement of said signs are usually done by a consultant using MBTA standards.
 
Re: T construction news

Why does that station render remind me so much of the Dire Straits "Money for Nothing" video? :???:

C'mon, contractor people!...it's time to upgrade your 1985 Silicon Graphics UNIX workstation. Even my phone can do splines now.

1.) Architects do the rendering, not contractors.

2.) It's a rendering taken from Revit (that's a Revit sky) and then brought into Photoshop to have those ridiculous textures applied (because Revit renders concrete poorly without add-on software). The MBTA wayfinding signage is also straight Revit "3D Lettering." Architects love to use that 3D lettering on T signs even though the T signs are always flat.
 
Re: T construction news

Why does that station render remind me so much of the Dire Straits "Money for Nothing" video? :???:

MoneyforNothing01.png8302ab37-3ab3-4bde-8a6e-1db6269c8050Original.jpg



C'mon, contractor people!...it's time to upgrade your 1985 Silicon Graphics UNIX workstation. Even my phone can do splines now.


He looks like a mean & nasty grumpy cigar-smoking boss!! Hah!! :lol::-D
 
Re: T construction news

Breaking this out from the other thread to give the bustitution discussion room to breathe :).

Newton CR stations approved for design today with one platform apiece:

https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/...n-cr-stations-public-meeting-presentation.pdf

Note that even with one platform the new stations would be an enormous improvement on the current tin shack/strip of asphalt design.

A couple of other tidbits in there - the $43M cost for each Newton station would be basically the same as Chelsea and less than Winchester Center. No word on what Lansdowne or Boston Landing cost. Also, NTP for Winchester Center is expected in 2020.

FMCB also approved construction of Oak Grove improvements:

https://www.mbta.com/projects/oak-grove-station-accessibility-improvements
 
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Re: T construction news

In Newton, is that One SIDE platform or one CENTER platform?
 

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