Green Line Extension to Medford & Union Sq

bigpicture7 said:
Sorry if this is a stupid question or has already been recently addressed (it's just impossible to keep up with everything)...

Does anyone know if repair/restoration to the old parts of the Lechmere viaduct are part of this project, or entirely separate?
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By design it's got to be semi-separate because half of it is concrete arch, half of it is a steel El...and half of the steel El is going to get lopped off for the new alignment. Conditions vary across the length of it. The concrete needs more intensive work. Even since '04 there's been little bits of flaking on it, including some exposed rebar by the Land Blvd. light. Auto emissions haven't been kind to it there, while the arches over the Charles are in much better shape. The steel portion is the most weight-restricted, so they'll be doing some GLT forward-compatible enhancements to the preserved segment of it. But it is in pretty good shape overall, not even flaking off all that much paint today (last paint job was definitely way before '04).
 
I'm hoping that if they have to close the concrete viaduct for upgrades (and any steel bits they're keeping) that they'd do it at the same time that they're doing the demolition on today's connection to Current Lechmere.
 
Random question. Has anyone seen what the new maps will look like with the 2 green line extensions? I'm wondering if they'll move the north red slightly down and to the left.
 
guitarguynboston said:
Random question. Has anyone seen what the new maps will look like with the 2 green line extensions? I'm wondering if they'll move the north red slightly down and to the left.
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Nothing official-official, but various FCMB presentations over the years have Photoshopped crops of the spider map unofficially. Would probably look similar to the MassDOT 2024 map served up for the Olympics...minus all the Indigo Lines.

MBTA.jpg
 
Thanks. I can't wait to see just the subway one. I like the simple straight lines ones. Makes it clearer for just the subway.
 
There is something really frustrating about watching this construction. There are segments of the right of way that lie idle for long stretches when it seems like they could parallelize the work. It’s almost like the contractor is the one working on the Porter Square hotels.

For example, the Central to Sycamore block has been idle for weeks, but it seems like they are ready to install the new drains from there to Rogers Foam. The stretch from Central to Lowell is also idle after last winter’s drainage installations, in spite of needing noise wall foundations.
 
RandomWalk said:
There is something really frustrating about watching this construction. There are segments of the right of way that lie idle for long stretches when it seems like they could parallelize the work. It’s almost like the contractor is the one working on the Porter Square hotels.

For example, the Central to Sycamore block has been idle for weeks, but it seems like they are ready to install the new drains from there to Rogers Foam. The stretch from Central to Lowell is also idle after last winter’s drainage installations, in spite of needing noise wall foundations.
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RandomW -- that's modern construction - rather than the Egyptian Pyramid model where people lived on the construction site for years -- On a modern construction project such as GLX there is a small team of permanently involved people at the engineering and management level and even fewer actual construction trade people. The rest of the work is being done by a host of specialized sub contractors who are not exactly on the beck and call of the General Contractor as it is too expensive.

So if something slips in the work schedule due to unexpected circumstances and the sub is not paid to stand by and wait -- well then they go off and do another project for which they are also on contract.

Note that other project for the sub might be another piece within the GLX. Not much different than an office building except that since the footprint of the GLX is spread-out over several miles not hundreds of feet -- things might seem abandoned temporarily

Example [not necessarily actual events] -- Sub is putting in foundation for a stretch of elevated track near Lechmere. Work is forced to stop because of unexpected soil conditions until the geotech engineering team can evaluate the site and recommend the appropriate mitigation. Meanwhile the sub can go to another site along the ROW where the project has progressed to the point of needing foundation work -- or maybe there is no other site ready for the foundation work on the GLX and the sub goes to Logan for work there.
 
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It would be helpful to folks if they would publish an up to date Gantt chart for the project on their website, instead of a bi-weekly free text update and CWG notes intermittently.
 
guitarguynboston said:
Random question. Has anyone seen what the new maps will look like with the 2 green line extensions? I'm wondering if they'll move the north red slightly down and to the left.
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No lines will need to be moved. The new map was designed in a way to fit the GLX in.

It just slots right in:
2019-04-08-rapid-transit-key-bus-routes-map-v33.png
 
RandomWalk said:
It would be helpful to folks if they would publish an up to date Gantt chart for the project on their website, instead of a bi-weekly free text update and CWG notes intermittently.
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And today the GLX folks post the notes from the most recent CWG meeting far earlier than usual. They discuss posting a Gantt chart of “milestones” in the near future. I’m skeptical, but it’s better than what they currently have.
 
I have a friend that works at Middlesex and he said they're something like 700 days behind schedule and way overbudget.
 
AmericanFolkLegend said:
I have a friend that works at Middlesex and he said they're something like 700 days behind schedule and way overbudget.
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What part of the project is Middlesex on? None of that is reflected in the schedules presented to the FMCB and MassDOT board
EDIT: Wait, this makes even less sense. It hasn't been 700 days since the NTP
 
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FitchburgLine said:
What part of the project is Middlesex on? None of that is reflected in the schedules presented to the FMCB and MassDOT board
EDIT: Wait, this makes even less sense. It hasn't been 700 days since the NTP
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I had the same thought. We should be wary of unverified 'insider' info.
 
I hope that isn't the official map. This is kind of nitpicking, but I hope they actually have the Union Square Branch parallel the Fitchburg Line because right now the overlap between the Green Line junction and the Fitchburg Line looks sloppy and awkward to me. I think having the line parallel the Fitchburg Line like it does IRL would help make it less awkward.
 
I don't think that's official. It should absolutely parallel the Fitchburg Line.
 
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