GM: Better done right than done on schedule
Construction on major MBTA stations will continue at least until spring
More than a dozen MBTA stations on the Green, Red and Blue lines are scheduled to see significant rehabilitation work completed this year.
But along the way, riders have grown frustrated navigating around construction, debris and temporary barriers as completion dates keep getting pushed back.
Last week, Metro tagged along with MBTA General Manager Dan Grabauskas as he toured Arlington, Kenmore and Ashmont stations to get progress reports from project managers onsite.
At Arlington, the new mezzanine floor is done after workers tore up the old one, which was built in 1913 and was found to be heavily corroded. At Kenmore, workers were building a brick elevator shaft at the new busway, and at Ashmont, the new roof is three-fourths complete, with new lobbies and platforms slated for below.
Though the end result will yield state-of-the-art equipment, some Green Line stations are still without elevators, while the temporary one at Ashmont must be manned by T officials when in use. In letters to Metro, T riders have called the Green Line construction ?interminable? and complained about safety issues related to the projects.
Another rider even complained that building the new Yankee Stadium will eventually take less time to complete.
When asked to respond to riders? frustrations, Grabauskas expressed regret for delays, but he asserted that doing the work properly outweighs ?keeping a schedule? set several years ago.
?We just try to be as honest with people as we can,? he said.
Under construction ... still
MBTA station projects are over budget and behind schedule, but look to be finished soon
Arlington/Copley Stations
* Modifications: Arlington ? new mezzanine, elevators, escalators, lighting, cameras and communication system, raised platforms; new entrance on Boylston Street will have stairwell and elevator at street level.
* Construction costs: Originally estimated at $32 million, now pegged at $46 million
* Time line: The Arlington Street entrance to the station is scheduled to reopen in May with new elevators. The major Copley improvements are expected to be done by December.
* ?The mezzanine became structurally unsound.? Project Manager George Shanks
Kenmore Station
* Modifications: Busway is 95 percent complete, including the glass canopy, with finishing sidewalks, elevators? headhouses and benches still remaining. Underground, new elevators must still be installed, and station will also have raised platforms, stairwells, communications systems and a refurbished mezzanine.
* Construction costs: Originally estimated at $23 million, now pegged at $32 million
* Timetable: Most of the busway?s improvements should be done in the next couple of months, while the new elevators should be installed by July.
* ?After The Station [nightclub] fire in 2003, we added emergency exit stairwells on the inbound and outbound side.? Project Manager Joseph Connor
Ashmont Station
* Work: The project is split into two phases. In all, work includes new lobbies, platforms, elevators, fare gates, bus turnaround, tile floors, ceiling and glass curtain walls to shield the station from neighboring homes.
* Construction costs: Phase I originally estimated at $35.2 million, but after some work ($4.9 million) transferred from Phase II and unforeseen repairs, updates and miscellaneous items ($7.8 million), Phase I now stands at $48 million budget.
* Timetable: The majority of Phase I will be completed by the summer and will likely overlap with the start of Phase II.
* ?It was falling apart a little bit.? Project Manager Scott Kelley, on why the project was changed to replace the entire platforms rather than just a section of them
Greg St. Martin
