Gov't Center Station Rebuild

metasyntactic said:
Wow, great resource. Thanks for the link. BTW, looks like Google lets you download them as PDFs. Awesome.

Looking at the 1918 one, I saw this neat diagram of Hynes from back when it had trolleys.


Is that showing the old passage that you referenced in the Abandoned T tunnels thread?
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The passageway under Mass Ave. that came up were the Dudley-bound Route 1 buses load was built much later, in 1962, as a partial replacement to the transfer station (in the linked diagram) which was closed and partially demolished because of turnpike construction.

The passageways shown in the diagram from the remnants of the surface station the the existing Green Line fare lobby and platforms do still exist as well. The one leading to the fare lobby is still used as a storage room (place for the cleaners to store supplies), the passage to the inbound platform is sealed but can easily be spotted from the platform (missing bricks with hole in the wall next to a standpipe), the passage to the outbound is still there but better covered up.
 
vanshnookenraggen said:
YES!!

These are the old tunnels to the demolished Adams Sq station. The new tunnels built at the time of Govt Center straightened out the route and bypassed the station (which was only northbound and lightly used).
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The abandoned tunnel segment that remains is under the alignment of Cornhill. It breaks away from the replacement 1963 tunnel just as a Lechmere-bound train is entering Government Center. All of the (now under construction) Lechmere-bound platform at Government Center is in the 1963 replacement tunnel. There is a short section of the original Lechmere-bound tunnel next to the access and vents for Court St.station (Court St. itself repurposed since the late 1980s as very large ventilation fan room) that is used as a storage area by the MBTA (place for cleaners, electricians, etc to keep things). After about 20 feet, there is a large cinder block wall that blocks off further access to the abandoned alignment from the existing alignment. On the other side of the cinder block wall is the space shown in the photographs, which was used to reroute drainage and sewer pipes. It includes a portion of the original Scollay Sq. Lechmere bound platform. This tunnel segment ends at another cinder block wall just before what would have been the corner of Cornhill and Washington. There is a stairway and door in the middle of this cinder block wall. On the other side of that wall is another short segment of the tunnel, this space is used by city hall, at one time as a storage space and later, I believe, as a computer room. This space can also be accessed from the loading dock of city hall's garage. I assume that is how the area was accessed to take the photographs.

The remaining part of the tunnel from Cornhill & Washington, under Washington, to Washington and Hanover St. , including all of Adams Sq. station, was completely demolished in the 1960s to clear the space for the construction of City Hall. The 1963 by-pass alignment rejoins the original 1898 alignment at Hanover & Washington, right before the location where the eastbound tunnel rejoins the westbound tunnel and just before the existing Haymarket station. The westbound tunnel from Haymarket to Government Center runs under the original alignment of Hanover St. This segment, including the westbound (now under construction) platform at Government Center is all the original 1898 tunnel.

The Brattle Loop track at Government Center (the loop that allows westbound trains to return east) enters the station area in the original 1898 alignment, but then sharply curves into the 1963 reroute within the station area. The original Brattle Loop, as built, cut across the space where the Dunkin Donuts and the bottom of the 1963 headhouse stairs and escalators (until a few weeks ago) used to be.

The Government Center loop (the one that allows eastbound trains to turn back west) was built new as part of the 1963 realignment.
 
davem said:
Also, sorry to the railfans. I probably just destroyed everyone productivity for the next month. Unfortunately a lot of the pull out maps weren't scanned, but its still an AMAZING read.
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I had so much I had to do today.... thanks.
 
Arlington said:
Whether by road or transit, you'll definitely note that things move, in fact, very smoothly for your July and August commutes. Make a note, in particular, how smooth things run the first week in July. Jams on highways are shorter and less severe. Trains are delayed less by congestion and door-blockers. Commuting in August is a particular joy, but nobody's here to see it--they're all on vacation ;-)
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Everyone should be noticing smoother summer commutes starting this week. I find, for example, that Waze (when driving) prefers Mass Ave in Cambridge (despite its construction), and I believe this is due to overall reduced traffic volumes.

Meanwhile, there are definitely a few routes that are crowded with summer interns (the 94 bus AM inbound which connects Tufts to Davis Sq, and perhaps BU interns gumming up the B-Line AM inbound), but mostly you should be seeing less-peaky peaks starting this week.
 
The Green Line definitely works much better when nobody is using it.

Which kind of defeats the point of it.
 
Matthew said:
The Green Line definitely works much better when nobody is using it.

Which kind of defeats the point of it.
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Wow, so true, and so sad!

"I'll take the two person Express from Cleveland Circle, please."
 
We are! I just walked by it tonight! So great to see the headhouse structure!
 
Seems like we're on pace for a March, 2016 re-opening (knock on wood)
 
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bigeman312 said:
Seems like we're on pace for a March, 2015 re-opening (knock on wood)
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Isn't that wayyyyyyyyy ahead of schedule? Don't get me wrong - that would be incredible, but I can't imagine they would be able to do it that quickly.

My guess is they wanna get the headhouse up and somewhat enclosed before the weather gets gold/wet/snowy.
 
MBTAddict said:
Isn't that wayyyyyyyyy ahead of schedule? Don't get me wrong - that would be incredible, but I can't imagine they would be able to do it that quickly.

My guess is they wanna get the headhouse up and somewhat enclosed before the weather gets gold/wet/snowy.
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Haha ya. Typo. I meant 2016. Assembly is opening a year and a half after headway construction began, so I guess this will as well. I edited the original post for the typo
 
MBTAddict said:
Isn't that wayyyyyyyyy ahead of schedule? Don't get me wrong - that would be incredible, but I can't imagine they would be able to do it that quickly.

My guess is they wanna get the headhouse up and somewhat enclosed before the weather gets gold/wet/snowy.
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As of Feb 2014 (just before it closed) the stated dates were "Spring of 2016" for re-opening and Fall of 2016 for completion.
(http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news...r_closure_of_government_center_station_t.html)
 
I forget, are they also expanding the Blue Line platforms (and building the new emergency egress) or is that a separate project/already done?
 
vanshnookenraggen said:
I forget, are they also expanding the Blue Line platforms (and building the new emergency egress) or is that a separate project/already done?
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Blue level's closed just like Green, so the emergency exit is getting done along with elevators and updated appearance. It's not going to change nearly as much as the upper level because it is pretty much what it is.

Platforms were already expanded a few years ago when they went to 6-car operation, so that's been long finished. And the "Scollay Under" sign that used to be behind the wall was out in the open for all to see on the platform extension. They carefully took out the sign for the renovation and put it into storage so they can re-tile the whole wall behind it. It'll get reinstalled at the end of the project and showcased against much prettier tile background.
 
The platform at Bowdein on the inbound side can accommodate the 6-car trains.

But the outbound platforn can only accommodate 4 of the cars. The first 2 cars stop just past the platform. You have to press the buttons near the doors to manually open them for boarding.

I wonder why that side of the platform was never extended to accommodate the first two cars. Which is why the first two cars are empty when the train comes into State Street Station. I usually wait at THAT end of the platform for boarding, to get a seat. The other four cars are already packed & crowded!
 
Jahvon09 said:
The platform at Bowdein on the inbound side can accommodate the 6-car trains.

But the outbound platforn can only accommodate 4 of the cars. The first 2 cars stop just past the platform. You have to press the buttons near the doors to manually open them for boarding.

I wonder why that side of the platform was never extended to accommodate the first two cars. Which is why the first two cars are empty when the train comes into State Street Station. I usually wait at THAT end of the platform for boarding, to get a seat. The other four cars are already packed & crowded!
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1) When GC isn't closed it's still a limited-hours station impossible to upgrade with ADA.

2) When the decision was made to lengthen all the other platforms for 6 cars Red-Blue was still a priority project, and the GC emergency exit was still scheduled in the rebuild to become a second Blue-only entrance close enough to Bowdoin to displace it. They didn't bother because they expected it would be permanently closed when the extension tore through it.

3) Regardless of #2 the T has long had a desire to permanently close Bowdoin. They can't any longer because MGH is pissed enough about Red-Blue being canceled and doesn't need additional provocation.



I doubt it's ever going to be lengthened. It's just too structurally invasive for the lowest ridership subway stop and 2nd-lowest ridership heavy rail stop on the system.
 
Years back, there WAS talk about possibly joining both the Bowdein Station platform with the Gov't Center Station platform.

Looks like that plan had never materialized and the MBTA had dropped their plans to do that. They would have had to cut through the existing tunnel to make it wider in order to put the lengthened platform in.

Some of Chicago's subway station platforms are joined together like that.
 
Crikey! This thing is huge! With the steel up it appears MUCH larger than one would expect from the renders on the T web site.
 
Semass said:
Crikey! This thing is huge! With the steel up it appears MUCH larger than one would expect from the renders on the T web site.
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Eh, I always got a "this is going to be ridiculously tall" feeling from the renders. The actual structure has lived up to my expectations based on the renders of scale.
 
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