Green Line Extension to Medford & Union Sq

TrolleybusFoaming said:
I've heard that it was canceled because of signal problems regarding the turn at Lechmere, and there's plenty of tweets to support this (like this), but it is odd that they then waited until the afternoon to cancel.
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IMO, I'd rather 2 days of hardship and a normal full speed Lechmere Viaduct after that, instead of an extra year (12 months) of the Lechmere Viaduct slow zone slowing down commutes for months on end with no sight of relief.

If it's 2 minutes round trip delayed by the slow zone, then the Lechmere Viaduct will cost a passenger commuting 5 days a week 520 minutes of their lives until the November 2024 repair date as outlined in the original presentation to the MBTA board of directiors.

In comparison, the signal delays would probably cost less time of a passenger's life, maybe 180 minutes worst case. IMO, they should've followed the original plan. It's a net gain even with the inconvenience for 2 days, and it was only 2 days.
 
Delvin4519 said:
IMO, I'd rather 2 days of hardship and a normal full speed Lechmere Viaduct after that, instead of an extra year (12 months) of the Lechmere Viaduct slow zone slowing down commutes for months on end with no sight of relief.

If it's 2 minutes round trip delayed by the slow zone, then the Lechmere Viaduct will cost a passenger commuting 5 days a week 520 minutes of their lives until the November 2024 repair date as outlined in the original presentation to the MBTA board of directiors.

In comparison, the signal delays would probably cost less time of a passenger's life, maybe 180 minutes worst case. IMO, they should've followed the original plan. It's a net gain even with the inconvenience for 2 days, and it was only 2 days.
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The same can be said to any other slow zone that's currently in the system, no? And it's clearly impossible to fix all of them at once. Some slow zones will always need to be resolved later and some sooner, and they all impact passengers commuting on them.
 
Teban54 said:
The same can be said to any other slow zone that's currently in the system, no? And it's clearly impossible to fix all of them at once. Some slow zones will always need to be resolved later and some sooner, and they all impact passengers commuting on them.
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Yea. I'm mainly referring to the original diversion schedule (December 4 - 5, 2023) that accelerated Lechmere Viaduct repairs to be completed during that 2 day window, and the cancellation of that diversion (if that results in the November 2024 repair timeframe in the board presentation).

The MBTA had thought it could do those repairs on the viaduct in those 2 days, and they scheduled it as such to do the repairs in that timeframe.
 
Delvin4519 said:
Dangerous cause for concern if they don't have a fix for the issue causing the slow zone.
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Keep in mind that you are expressing concern based on a speculative claim. There's no foundation for it, and it seems quite unlikely that they don't actually know how to fix it. They might need more time for logistics or other resource related issues, that's not too unusual.
 
HenryAlan said:
Keep in mind that you are expressing concern based on a speculative claim. There's no foundation for it, and it seems quite unlikely that they don't actually know how to fix it. They might need more time for logistics or other resource related issues, that's not too unusual.
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They mentioned in their promo stuff that they were fixing it during the orange and green line closure of Sep '22. Over a year ago.
They've since closed the line multiple times with no progress on that slow zone.
Kinda wish they'd just come out and tell the public what the problem is.
 
Ruairi said:
Right, and he's been good and transparent.
Which is why I dont get this particular issue being shrouded in mystery.
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Someone from StreetsblogMASS or the Boston Globe should send a public records request or something asking"Why was the Lechmere Viaduct work cancelled/when will the slow zone be fixed"? The whole Lechmere Viaduct boondoggle is certainly one of the bigger mysteries of the GLX.
 
Delvin4519 said:
Someone from StreetsblogMASS or the Boston Globe should send a public records request or something asking"Why was the Lechmere Viaduct work cancelled/when will the slow zone be fixed"? The whole Lechmere Viaduct boondoggle is certainly one of the bigger mysteries of the GLX.
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Or how about "why was the Lechmere Viaduct work even scheduled in the first place when the initial systemwide schedule didn't even have a shutdown in December 2023"?

Nobody gave the T any compliments when they tried to fix something as an extra add-on to their schedule. So why are people making such a big fuss - even calling it "boondoggle" - when the bonus work is canceled, even when it's still not a net negative and still adheres to their November schedule?
 
Teban54 said:
Or how about "why was the Lechmere Viaduct work even scheduled in the first place when the initial systemwide schedule didn't even have a shutdown in December 2023"?

Nobody gave the T any compliments when they tried to fix something as an extra add-on to their schedule. So why are people making such a big fuss - even calling it "boondoggle" - when the bonus work is canceled, even when it's still not a net negative and still adheres to their November schedule?
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Primarily because the T routinely violates project management 101:

Under promise -- over deliver.

Don't add on a promised fix to a planned shutdown, then casually make it disappear like no one will notice. (And they got credit for coordination of effort by adding the viaduct issue to the other shutdown.) It wouldn't be quite so bad if this wasn't the second or third time the viaduct fix had been promised then casually deep sixed.
 
JeffDowntown said:
Don't add on a promised fix to a planned shutdown, then casually make it disappear like no one will notice. (And they got credit for coordination of effort by adding the viaduct issue to the other shutdown.) It wouldn't be quite so bad if this wasn't the second or third time the viaduct fix had been promised then casually deep sixed.
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There were at least two shutdowns that promised to fix the Lechmere viaduct slow zone: August 2022 and June 2023.

This proposed fix of December 2023 would be the third one at least (if I didn't miss any shutdowns since March 2022 opening of the Union Square branch). And it failed to deliver promised results of fixing the Lechmere viaduct.

The public was promised the Lechmere viaduct would be fixed after the monthlong shutdown in August 2022. It never came. Streetsblog Mass went and did an investigation of the Lechmere Viaduct in January 2023, that only gave some murmurs "we are waiting for some ties, and we'll lift it by spring 2023". Spring 2023 fades into summer 2023 with no fix. Later on, then in June 2023, there were weekend shutdowns on the GLX, that also promised to fix the Lechmere Viaduct. That fix never came. The weekend shutdowns were later extended two more weekends for even more work on the Lechmere Viaduct. No fix came either. Now here we are in December 2023 where GM Eng promised to fix the Lechmere Viaduct for the third time alongside the narrow gauge tracks on the rest of the GLX. Then they dropped the ball again.

Three promises by the MBTA to fix this defective work of the brand new GLX project. None kept.

And now the public is left with nothing but some powerpoint presentation slides that point to another year long wait until late November 2024 for the original fix to the Lechmere Viaduct, and three (maybe five?) failed attempts to fix the Lechmere Viaduct slow zone.
 
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Amusingly, the Viaduct's Wikipedia page has no mention of the slow zones, and in fact says the opposite:

Service over the viaduct resumed with the opening of the Union Square Branch on March 21, 2022.[14] The Union Square Branch was closed from August 22 to September 18, 2022. The closure allowed for wire replacement on the Lechmere Viaduct, increasing speeds from 10 miles per hour (16 km/h) to 25 miles per hour (40 km/h), as well as final integration of the Medford Branch and other work.[15]
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GLX work will not be finished on time.

And if this 1 week extension fails to fix the Lechmere Viaduct, this will surely be a huge boondaggle. 5 promises to fix the Lechmere Viaduct, all failures. This diversion seems to be the first one under Eng that has not came to deliver on their promises.

Green Line Extension Update | News | MBTA

Official website of the MBTA -- schedules, maps, and fare information for Greater Boston's public transportation system, including subway, commuter rail, bus routes, and boat lines.
www.mbta.com www.mbta.com

1702081111425.png
 
Delvin4519 said:
GLX work will not be finished on time.

And if this 1 week extension fails to fix the Lechmere Viaduct, this will surely be a huge boondaggle. 5 promises to fix the Lechmere Viaduct, all failures. This diversion seems to be the first one under Eng that has not came to deliver on their promises.

Green Line Extension Update | News | MBTA

Official website of the MBTA -- schedules, maps, and fare information for Greater Boston's public transportation system, including subway, commuter rail, bus routes, and boat lines.
www.mbta.com www.mbta.com

View attachment 45483
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This press release is explicitly about the night-time closures for regauging the narrow tracks that caused the 3 mph slow zones earlier, not about the Lechmere Viaduct.
 
Teban54 said:
This press release is explicitly about the night-time closures for regauging the narrow tracks that caused the 3 mph slow zones earlier, not about the Lechmere Viaduct.
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Well the MBTA tried to tackle on an added promised fix to the GLX work, and then tried to make it disappear without anyone noticing. Same goes for the MBTA podcast they put up for 17 minutes one morning, and then they were made to try to take that down without anyone noticing.
 
Delvin4519 said:
Well the MBTA tried to tackle on an added promised fix to the GLX work, and then tried to make it disappear without anyone noticing. Same goes for the MBTA podcast they put up for 17 minutes one morning, and then they were made to try to take that down without anyone noticing.
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The bonus Lechmere Viaduct fix (that was eventually canceled) was only for December 4-5, as reported here and here.

Unless I missed a mention somewhere, this night-time closure from Nov 27 to Dec 11 (now extended to Dec 17) is solely for regauging the narrow tracks. It's also done by GLX Contractors, the company that built GLX, and not by the T themselves. So unless you present evidence that the 11/27 - 12/17 closure (and specifically the 12/11 - 12/17 extension that GLX Contractors requested) also had initially unannounced involvements from the T that's specifically for the Lechmere Viaduct, I really don't see how this can even be used as a complaint about the Lechmere Viaduct.

Edit: I see that Lechmere Viaduct was mentioned here. However, it's clear in the announcement that the primary focus is the gauge. Not only did the T not promise they'll completely fix it (with the exact phrasing being "crews will perform track work on the Lechmere Viaduct"), but there's nothing that suggests this duration of time - primarily for another project - is enough.
 
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Teban54 said:
This press release is explicitly about the night-time closures for regauging the narrow tracks that caused the 3 mph slow zones earlier, not about the Lechmere Viaduct.
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Why am I not surprised?!!!! (n)
 
A real estate acquisition for expanding the new maintenance/storage yard related to Type 10 procurement was approved by the Board today.

Important to this thread, this transaction enables 2 new connections to East Somerville Station, with funding both from private sources and the City of Somerville, though there's no timeline on anything. Real estate transactions means we are early in the process, but it sounds like the MBTA has already set aside funding to build the yard, so it may be sooner than we expected..
 
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