Blue Line extension to Lynn

[tangent]

At the last Suffolk Downs redevelopment meeting, HYM also discussed this resilience priority for the section of track between Suffolk Downs Station and Beachmont Station. They're suggesting a systems of berms topped with a bike path along this stretch of Bennington Street. I see greater value in implementing a flood-gate system at the Winthrop Bridge, and a more robust seawall along Short Beach. This solution would create additional benefit to the T by protecting the Blue Line Shops at Orient Heights from a storm event.

Start planning to raise the roads and rails 2 to 3 feet to keep up with sea level rise. Higher seawalls, berms and whatnot are ok, but you don't want to have a high perimeter storm defense and leave your critical infrastructure below sea level which will just accelerate flooding when it inevitably gets breached... like New Orleans.

 

[F-Line to Dudley]

Start planning to raise the roads and rails 2 to 3 feet to keep up with sea level rise. Higher seawalls, berms and whatnot are ok, but you don't want to have a high perimeter storm defense and leave your critical infrastructure below sea level which will just accelerate flooding when it inevitably gets breached... like New Orleans.

In this case if BLX rides alongside the Eastern Route they will have to widen the causeway, which probably means it gets raised +3 feet in-tandem since they'll be dumping lots of stone and EIS'ing for the widening. The last 1500+ ft. of causeway (next to the ex- Revere landfill) will get inclined higher than that any which way so Saugus Draw can be replaced by a taller fixed bridge capable of handling CR + BLX (any routing, including Point of Pines) side-by-side.

 

[DominusNovus]

Start planning to raise the roads and rails 2 to 3 feet to keep up with sea level rise. Higher seawalls, berms and whatnot are ok, but you don't want to have a high perimeter storm defense and leave your critical infrastructure below sea level which will just accelerate flooding when it inevitably gets breached... like New Orleans.

Netherlands?

 

[tangent]

Netherlands?

Just saying I would rather have train tracks on top of raised embankment than below one. Either way you need to raise up the land or build a wall up to prevent the tracks from being inundated by sea level rise, but if you simply build a wall around critical infrastructure and leave the infrastructure below sea level then you are leaving yourself a larger risk of catastrophic failure.

 

[BeyondRevenue]

Suggestion: Piggybacking on Riverside's post, can we update the name, content and prominence of this thread to be "Blue Line Restoration?"

We have many sources of information on the Blue Line all over aB and we should have an amalgam so we can advocate with data.

 

[jklo]

Suggestion: Piggybacking on Riverside's post, can we update the name, content and prominence of this thread to be "Blue Line Restoration?"

We have many sources of information on the Blue Line all over aB and we should have an amalgam so we can advocate with data.

Did ROW actually exist which connects to the Blue Line that's not the current Newburyport line?

 

[Tallguy]

Did ROW actually exist which connects to the Blue Line that's not the current Newburyport line?

There is a ROW through the Point of Pines neighborhood. It has suffered some encroachment over the years.

 

[BeyondRevenue]

Those are not the routes under study, and the Saugus Branch is a grade crossing minefield so that would never be a consideration for HRT. It's either.

1) Continue from Wonderland under re-dug former underpass of Revere St., cross Diamond Creek on trestle and 1A on overpass, bolt to Eastern Route, eliminate Oak Island Rd. grade crossing with quad-track overpass, replace Saugus Draw with 4-track fixed span. Stops at Lynnport, Lynn.

2) From Wonderland on BRB&L ROW to Oak Island St. to avoid Diamond Creek wetlands, curve behind Oak Island Park, cross 1A on overpass, bolt to Eastern Route and replace Saugus Draw w/ 4-track fixed span. Stops at Oak Island, Lynnport, Lynn.

3) On BRB&L ROW through Point of Pines. Cross 1A by the Lynnway ramps, curve behind Gibson Park & G.J. Towing, cross river on new span following ex-B&M Revere Branch (now power lines) ROW, curve into new 4-track fixed replacement for Saugus Draw. Stops at Oak Island, Point of Pines, Lynnport, Lynn.


Paper-pushing snark aside, they do actually need to do a feasibility study to determine which of these routings is doable and what it'll cost...because right now there's really nothing concrete to benchmark them by. Especially the wetlands on #1 and the building impacts on #3.

F-Line has the 3 most likely scenarios, but I have one that might be a little wilder. Scenario 4 on the map below where we build whatever works best to cross 1A at the Wonderland Rotary, a whole new platform and node for Commuter Rail and Blue Line transfers (must have people mover). In the years it would take to build Scenario 4, Wonderland could be in full use. After, it could be used as local express train terminus until the platforms deteriorate as they often do.
Advantages:

• Avoids nearly all of the Olympic-caliber NIMBY bitchers from Point of Pines and Oak Island.
• Only one property will have to be partially taken (Former Wonderland Track Parking lot) as opposed to the number of payoffs and shakedowns for 1, 2 and 3. Single source corruption!
• No marshland will be taken other than the berms of the existing Rockport ROW.
• A second station could be built across from Billy Tse's on Revere Street to serve a lot more people than any Oak Island or Point of Pines stops
• A developer for the new Wonderland stop might help in offsetting infrastructure costs.
• Would be a big step toward more TOD (Light blue area) for the Wonderland Rotary to Bell Circle stretch

Take a look ...

 

[Riverside]

Cheers @BeyondRevenue, glad you liked the name. Just to be clear, I don’t particularly feel it’s vital to restore service specifically via the BRB&L ROW. I am largely agnostic on which alignment to use, though my perception is that going along the commuter rail line would be more feasible, both from an engineering perspective, and a political one.

EDIT: also, color me intrigued by the idea of diverting south of Wonderland.

 

[Charlie_mta]

...Scenario 4 on the map below...
View attachment 20612

I like it for a couple of reasons in addition to the ones you listed:
-It avoids a significant wetland "take", thus avoiding a lot of political/environmental controversy.
-It provides a (second) BL station further inland to balance out the walkshed.

 

[RandomWalk]

The curves look too sharp on your sketch, but it is a nice pitch otherwise.

 

[F-Line to Dudley]

F-Line has the 3 most likely scenarios, but I have one that might be a little wilder. Scenario 4 on the map below where we build whatever works best to cross 1A at the Wonderland Rotary, a whole new platform and node for Commuter Rail and Blue Line transfers (must have people mover). In the years it would take to build Scenario 4, Wonderland could be in full use. After, it could be used as local express train terminus until the platforms deteriorate as they often do.
Advantages:

• Avoids nearly all of the Olympic-caliber NIMBY bitchers from Point of Pines and Oak Island.
• Only one property will have to be partially taken (Former Wonderland Track Parking lot) as opposed to the number of payoffs and shakedowns for 1, 2 and 3. Single source corruption!
• No marshland will be taken other than the berms of the existing Rockport ROW.
• A second station could be built across from Billy Tse's on Revere Street to serve a lot more people than any Oak Island or Point of Pines stops
• A developer for the new Wonderland stop might help in offsetting infrastructure costs.
• Would be a big step toward more TOD (Light blue area) for the Wonderland Rotary to Bell Circle stretch

Take a look ...

Actually, Option #1 goes a little more like this. . .

Utilizes a segment of ex-B&M Revere Beach Branch ROW (currently a power line ROW) over the inlet, then consolidates the Saugus River crossing into one 4-track fixed bridge alongside Commuter Rail (same as Options #2-4). A bit cheaper than plowing straight over the water because the inlet is only 500 ft. across vs. 1250 ft. straight over the mouth of the river, has less navigability considerations because there's only that 1 little boat dock on it, consolidates the infrastructure with the replacement CR bridge, and requires no private land-takings on the Lynn side of the river since Commuter Rail is pre-graded for 4 tracks throughout.

 

[The EGE]

Fun historical note: A few timbers of that B&M bridge, which was abandoned in 1891, are still in place near Gibson Park. Has to be one of the longest-abandoned bridge remains in the state.

 

[Arlington]

I really like Option 4, and I'd build it with ZERO intermediate stops. My second choice is 2, with a station at 2, shown

Actually, Option #1 goes a little more like this. . .
View attachment 20620

 

[F-Line to Dudley]

I really like Option 4, and I'd build it with ZERO intermediate stops. My second choice is 2, with a station at 2, shown

Oak Island (or equivalent) has always studied out at sufficient density to require a stop, and the spacing is average relative to the rest of Blue in Revere. That's passing up way too much. Along with the excessive wetlands engaged the lack of any more Revere intermediates is arguably the fatal flaw in "skip everything" Option #3 that the state crayoned in its last quasi-stab at studying this. Too much ridership left on the table. Wonderland has really crappy walkshed because of the godawful road configuration there (look at the chunky, chunky blocks between it and the beach and how much the rotary approaches impede it from 3 sides) and is a nexus of bad all-around development decisions with the parking-centric garbage strewn around it. It doesn't serve the 5 blocks of residential abutting Revere St. all that well.

Revere St. has the 116 bus (Key Route, #17 in systemwide ridership) on it where the Eastern Route crosses, so that definitely merits the Option #4 infill even if the accompanying 424 & 455 get truncated to Lynn post-BLX like most/all of the 4xx's would. If you built the Oak Island intermediate (behind Kelly's Roast Beef) as in Options #1 & #2 the 116 would have its ending redrawn to terminate there instead of bending back Wonderland, serving similar purpose. The 116/Revere St. corridor snaps tighter to the next intermediate than it ever would Wonderland-proper.

 

[Charlie_mta]

I laid out what I think Option 4 would look like, and I think it's doable without taking any residences. I think the only ROW acquisition would be a small car dealership (as shown below). Here's my take on how it would all fit:

 

[F-Line to Dudley]

View attachment 20620

My rankings. . .
#1 is absolute king on ridership. PoP is dense and under-served. Its buses are dysfunctional, bogged down in traffic on the Wonderland duplication and an uncertain future (most of the 4xx's will be culled to Lynn-proper if any of these Alts. are built, but you'd have to gerrymander *something* of decent frequency to still trawl here if PoP isn't on rapid transit). But it's also the most expensive by far and most politically delicate because of the snug abutters. Depends entirely on political support, with political support likely having complex dependencies on how much $$$ is in it in property values for hosting the stop.

#2 is best-of-the-rest, acknowledging that #1 has some tough hurdles to clear and this would be the spiffiest consolation prize if #1 can't clear. Probably the easiest-in-the-absolute of all four to mount, since it's wetlands-fewer (successfully avoiding the whole southern third of the marsh), and makes its directest private-property hit on a crud industrial tenant. Offers up a worthy-ridership intermediate, and the best-you're-gonna-get bus transfer point from PoP if PoP-proper can't practically be served.


#4 serves up an equally worthy (maybe even slightly denser) intermediate and force-feeds some welcome reimaginating of the traffic-@#$%ed Wonderland moonscape. But it's going to be difficult with property takings because the Eastern is def not quad-track width through Revere St. abutters' yards without major embankment reimagining. I'm not even sure GLX shaved it anywhere this close through Somerville as this one would need to shave it on those 6 residential blocks around Revere St. **Oof!** Also near-maximal wetlands, and need to Chinese-wall part of the Oak Island neighborhood with a quad-track overpass of Oak I. Road to eliminate the grade crossing (underrated thorniness!). Hard sailing for what it sets out to do; I doubt it scores well head-to-head with #2 unless there proves to be some sort of fatal blocker precluding going at all as far up the BRB&L ROW as #2.

#3...which seemed to be the state's preferred Alt. (tankapalooza alert!) is the least realistic because of the maximum wetlands pain. Over Diamond Creek on a lugubriously expensive trestle-on-pegs, then quadding up the embankment on the entirety of the marsh??? Bigtime cost blowout. Then same abutter pain as #4 with the Chinese-wall 4-track overpass @ Oak I. Rd. And not offsetting any of those chained-together downsides with new Revere ridership gains. Seems almost born to fail upon scoring...which might've been the whole point of the state putting its finger on the scale for it back when.

 

[Charlie_mta]

#4 serves up an equally worthy (maybe even slightly denser) intermediate and force-feeds some welcome reimaginating of the traffic-@#$%ed Wonderland moonscape. But it's going to be difficult with property takings because the Eastern is def not quad-track width through Revere St. abutters' yards without major embankment reimagining. I'm not even sure GLX shaved it anywhere this close through Somerville as this one would need to shave it on those 6 residential blocks around Revere St. **Oof!** Also near-maximal wetlands, and need to Chinese-wall part of the Oak Island neighborhood with a quad-track overpass of Oak I. Road to eliminate the grade crossing (underrated thorniness!). Hard sailing for what it sets out to do; I doubt it scores well head-to-head with #2 unless there proves to be some sort of fatal blocker precluding going at all as far up the BRB&L ROW as #2.

Looking at Google Earth, south of Revere Street gets too tight. The residential yards are close to the 2-track ROW on the east side, and then there is a public park on the west side, Several back yards could be shaved back but politically that would be DOA. Here's the view of this on Google Earth: https://earth.google.com/web/@42.41725847,-70.99469108,3.39596473a,203.62230272d,35y,0h,0t,0r​

In a crazy transit pitch scenario, I would elevate the BL over the Eastern Branch RR through this tight stretch, but I'm sure the residences along there would not want that, especially as it would require a BL flyover above the Revere St crossing..​

 

[Charlie_mta]

My rankings. . .
#1 is absolute king on ridership. PoP is dense and under-served. Its buses are dysfunctional, bogged down in traffic on the Wonderland duplication and an uncertain future (most of the 4xx's will be culled to Lynn-proper if any of these Alts. are built, but you'd have to gerrymander *something* of decent frequency to still trawl here if PoP isn't on rapid transit). But it's also the most expensive by far and most politically delicate because of the snug abutters. Depends entirely on political support, with political support likely having complex dependencies on how much $$$ is in it in property values for hosting the stop.

The apartment buildings are right up to the edge of the old ROW at P of P, but I'm thinking it may be wide enough to squeeze in a cut and cover tunnel along that tight ROW through the apartments. The terrain is similar to what the short BL tunnel north of Airport Station passes through.

 

[WormtownNative]

The apartment buildings are right up to the edge of the old ROW at P of P, but I'm thinking it may be wide enough to squeeze in a cut and cover tunnel along that tight ROW through the apartments. The terrain is similar to what the short BL tunnel north of Airport Station passes through.

Honest question: would a tunnel be prohibitively expensive due to waterproofing requirements with the proximity to the marshes & the ocean?