MBTA Construction Projects

Re: T construction news

http://www.boston.com/news/local/ma...e_remaking_of_a_grand_entrance/?p1=News_links

The Boston Globe
The remaking of a grand entrance
Long neglected, Copley Square subway portal gets a return to glory

In a world of functional but mundane MBTA entrances, the portal for inbound travelers at Copley Square is one of a kind: a filigreed framework of flowers and curlicues in cast iron, at once classically inspired and reminiscent of the Art Nouveau kiosks that distinguish the Metro in Paris.

The civic leaders who commissioned the covered entrance 99 years ago wanted to enhance the grandeur of the Boston Public Library behind it, not mar it with a run-of-the-mill subway entrance. But with time and neglect, the fine details became obscured by rust, thick layers of paint, and assorted graffiti; transients were sleeping on the roof. The structure, bowed and buckling, was at risk of collapse.

But now, after more than two years of painstaking repairs and reconstruction, the Copley Station inbound head house ? as subway en trances are known ? has been restored.

A crew from the same Easton blacksmith shop that revived the gates enclosing Harvard Yard and the ornamentation around the State House is in the process of reinstalling it on the Boylston Street sidewalk near Dartmouth Street.

The restoration, costing a little under $1.9 million, is a mere line item on the books of a roughly $50 million modernization project intended to make the Green Line stations at Arlington and Copley accessible to people with disabilities. That federally mandated work was slowed by a series of expensive lawsuits and unexpected problems, including accidental damage to two protected National Historic Landmarks nearby: a cracked stone bench on the library?s facade, and a foundation-to-roofline fissure through the stone wall of Old South Church.

The protracted project has rendered one of Boston?s most prominent intersections a cluttered construction zone for five years. With the work finally coming to a close this fall, the resurrection of the historic Copley head house ? a ?belle-?poque confection,?? as one local history book dubbed it ? provides a sweet form of punctuation.

?It?s glorious,?? said the Rev. Nancy S. Taylor, senior minister of the Old South Church, an admirer of the entrance through it all.

Even in decline, with some of the windows painted over and some of the pieces broken off, MBTA officials recognized the Copley entrance as an aesthetic and historic resource that should be saved, said Andrew D. Brennan, the T?s director of environmental affairs. But they could not muster the money to pay for restoration until they were able to combine it with the larger disability-access project ? and by then they feared the structure might be too far gone to be rehabilitated.

DeAngelis Iron Work of Easton, which specializes in sensitive historical projects, was hired to tag, catalog, and dismantle each piece of decorative ironwork ? roughly 1,000 altogether, some smaller than a saucer ? making up the 16-by-20-foot head house.Then DeAngelis carted the fragile pieces to its workshop, cleaning and sorting to determine which ones were salvageable.

In the meantime, contractors in Boston, working to add multiple elevators and other features to the station, rigged a plywood shelter over the exposed stairs so the station?s inbound entrance could remain open.

In Easton, DeAngelis used a blend of old-fashioned blacksmith techniques and sophisticated software to remove decades of paint and corrosion, create a model for reconstruction, and weld and mend those pieces that could be saved. To fill in gaps, the firm employed Rhode Island?s Cumberland Foundry to cast precise replica parts, said Harry Dodakian, a DeAngelis principal and senior project manager.

In the end, about 90 percent of the original external and interior ironwork was preserved.

?Ninety percent for us on this project, we think, is just a tremendous milestone, given the number of pieces,?? Brennan said. ?There was some concern that they would just crumble as you were taking them apart.??

The firm?s work revealed some surprises. For one, DeAngelis discovered that the blackened lanterns atop the corners of the head house were actually bronze, not iron, and they will once again gleam.

The crew also found that the head house?s decorative iron shell was erected around a hidden steel skeleton so old (one section was stamped CARNEGIE) and so corroded that it had given way, forcing the ornamental sections to bear the load. DeAngelis designed and built a new steel frame, galvanized to last longer, and in compliance with current codes to withstand snow, wind, and earthquakes.

That skeleton came in whole on a flatbed truck in the quiet of the night a month ago, and workers since have been fastening the decorative ironwork around it, which they expect to complete in early October, Dodakian said. That month will mark the 96th anniversary of the opening of the Boylston Street Subway ? now part of the MBTA?s Green Line ? which came three years after the Legislature authorized that line, in 1911, to alleviate trolley traffic and expand Boston?s nascent subway system.

The special inbound head house commissioned at Copley was designed by the Boston architecture firm Fox and Gale, in consultation with library officials, and built by HeclaWinslow Co., a firm whose Brooklyn workshop also produced the iron and bronze adorning many of New York?s landmarks, including Grand Central Station and the Dakota apartment building.

It no doubt helped Hecla?s case that its crews had fashioned the exterior metalwork for the Boston Public Library two decades earlier, but the firm also submitted the lowest of four bids that year: $9,890.

The ironwork echoes that of the library?s facade, and the canopy arch over the stairway to the inbound platform includes a seal with an open book. Shortly after completion, a proud Hecla-Winslow selected that Copley entrance, among its many projects, to showcase its work in a 1915 ad in Architecture magazine.

Daniel J. Beaulieu, a project manager for the T, keeps in his back pocket a copy of a photo of the head house under construction at the Hecla-Winslow factory, as a kind of good luck charm, and plans to do so until major work at Copley is finished this fall. In the spring, the T?s contractor and the contractor?s insurance company will pay to repair the damage at Old South Church.

Beaulieu sometimes shows the photo to passersby who inquire about the temporary plywood entrance and the work in progress. Earlier this week, standing before a nearly completed elevator shaft on the outbound side, Beaulieu again extracted the creased photo from his pocket. He admired the ironwork in its initial splendor, as did the others joining him on a site visit.

?It?s so cool,?? Brennan said, eyeing the photo as the real thing took shape behind him. ?It?s a beautiful structure.??
 
Re: T construction news

Sounds like a restoration project even Lurker would approve of.
 
Re: T construction news

Apparently, the State Street project will be done next year. I'll believe it when I see it. There are other parts of the article that I didn't post here. It's essentially a conglomeration of small news pieces about the T: http://www.boston.com/news/local/ma...treet_upgrade_will_finally_be_done_next_year/

T says State Street upgrade will finally be done next year

By Eric Moskowitz
Globe Staff / October 3, 2010

When renovations began at State Street Station, the MBTA put up ?Please Pardon Our Appearance During Construction?? signs asking for patience during the three years it would take to complete the project. That was six years ago.

?Can you find out why the State Street Station renovation is taking so long and what the final result is going to be??? reader Herb Gleason e-mailed in March, when I took over the beat, asking a question I would subsequently receive from others as well. Gleason, a Boston native who has practiced law in the city for a half-century ? including more than a decade as the city?s corporation counsel for then-mayor Kevin H. White ? has an office near the station and e-mailed me again recently about State Street. ?No apparent progress,?? he wrote.

I posed the question to MBTA spokeswoman Lydia Rivera, who acknowledged that the project was supposed to be completed by September 2007. As recently as last November, the T said it would be completed by fall 2010. Now the transit agency says it is about 80 percent done and should be finished by next spring.

While the original construction contract was awarded at $38.4 million, a series of change orders and amendments with contractor Barletta Heavy Division Inc. pushed the tab to $52.4 million, Rivera said. (That?s not counting another $12 million invested in design, land acquisition, and other costs outside of construction.)

For all the groans that may elicit, the cost overruns and delays are slightly less than those at Copley, another project that the T says is coming to a close soon ? and another demonstration of just how complicated and unpredictable it is to complete an above-and-below-ground infrastructure project in a crowded urban environment, while attempting to keep that work site open as a functioning station.

The work at State Street includes extending the Blue Line platforms to accommodate six-car trains and constructing two new elevator-equipped entrances and a new ramp and corridors connecting the Blue Line and Orange Line platforms, to assist riders with disabilities. The work also includes a host of modernizing touches, like new lighting, communications equipment, and graphic panels reflecting the history of the area above ground.

The relocation of utility lines nearby, particularly under State and Congress streets, proved more complicated and expensive than expected. The design had to be retooled after the T, in April 2006, settled a federal lawsuit over its inadequate compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, agreeing to spend $310 million on accessibility improvements ? including changes at State ? and submit to independent monitoring. And the switch from tokens to automated fare collection during construction ? yes, that?s how long the project has taken ? also added to the cost and time, Rivera said in an e-mail.

The roadway utility work will continue through this fall, with restoration of the Boston streets above scheduled to be finished in the spring, while the station itself should be substantially completed by January, Rivera said.

Gleason said the T has done little to inform the public about what is going on at State, but he wasn?t surprised to learn that utility work took longer than expected. It reminded him of Dock Square, a block away and across from City Hall, which a generation ago always had work crews present. On the verge of opening Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market in the 1970s as a revitalized destination, White told Joe Casazza ? who would serve three mayors as public works commissioner over a remarkable 39 years, and who died last month at 76 ? to instruct the utilities this was their last chance to tear up the block.

?But Kevin,?? Casazza told the mayor, as Gleason recalled, ?that?s where they practice.??
 
Re: T construction news

Sounds like a restoration project even Lurker would approve of.

Drove by Copley very early Monday morning and swear I saw the iron gates closed in front of the inbound headhouse. Anyone else confirm? My body was in a different time zone, so maybe I was dreaming.
 
Re: T construction news

some real progress has been made at the Ashmont Station finally. they opened up the peabody square side of the station this week. looks good. Also a new statue/art piece was put it.

Its a GIANT stone head on its side on top of a pedistal.... Looks very strange....
 
Re: T construction news

2.jpg


Daddy?

I was going to originally going to write "Dada?" but that could be a legitimate question.
 
Re: T construction news

2.jpg


Daddy?

I was going to originally going to write "Dada?" but that could be a legitimate question.


exactly what it looks like, same size just on the side...i'll take a pic later today on my way home.
 
Re: T construction news

Drove by Copley very early Monday morning and swear I saw the iron gates closed in front of the inbound headhouse. Anyone else confirm? My body was in a different time zone, so maybe I was dreaming.

I assume the gates will always be closed when service is not running. Were you there before 5 am?
 
Re: T construction news

peabody square/ashmont station

it looks like a sleeping head...I wonder if the screaming tracks of the trolleys will wake up the beast?

IMAG0120.jpg



IMAG0081.jpg


- pictures taken by my fabulous HTC Evo 4G -
 
Re: T construction news

I will never forget when my design prof said in class one day that he thought camera phones were a bad idea and useless. We (the students) were speechless. The next phone I get will probably have a higher megapixel count than my DSLR.
 
Re: T construction news

I assume the gates will always be closed when service is not running. Were you there before 5 am?

The actual accordian gates, instead of the plywood doors is what I was asking.

And I answered my own question a few days later when we walked by around 1:30. The station is nearly completion, one worker and one tile replacement at a time.
 
Re: T construction news

I like the style the T has used on their renovated stations over the past decade (starting with the blue line and silver line).

I think it looks good.
 
Re: T construction news

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1310002

Boston became the envy of the nation in 1897 when it opened North America?s first subway line.

The Tremont Street Subway, which stopped at Park Street and Scollay and Adam squares, took 2A years to build. Completed ahead of time and under its $5 million budget, it was hailed as an ?unqualified success.?

How times have changed.

The MBTA began reconstructing State Street Station in September 2004. Work is still chugging along, more than three years behind schedule and $22.2 million over budget.

That is just one of many recent T projects with cost overruns and delayed completions ? a less lofty legacy that MBTA General Manager Richard Davey wants to erase.

?We?ve got some big construction projects that have gone on for a long time,? Davey said in a recent interview, referring to the rehabbing of State Street and Ashmont stations. ?The bottom line is that those will be done in 2011. Guaranteed.?

Ashmont appears to be on track, with the reconstruction project expected to finish this summer, as scheduled. But State Street has posed difficulties for engineers who are installing new elevator shafts under the Old State House, one of the Hub?s most treasured landmarks, which played a starring role in the American Revolution.

Blue Line platforms have been elongated to accommodate modern six-car trains that replaced older, four-car trains.

?We are reconstructing a station ? one of the most active stations in the system ? and keeping it open, and reconstructing it around one of the most historically sensitive areas in Boston, right under the Old State House,? Davey said.

But he said the T needs to do a better job of completing work on time and sticking to the original price tag. To help achieve that, he?s tasked Frank DePaola, the MBTA?s newly hired assistant general manager for design and construction, to do postmortems on several chronically delayed, over-budget projects.

?What Frank?s team is doing is looking at those projects over the last five years to see what lessons can be learned to make sure we are delivering projects that are on time and on budget in the future,? Davey said. Exhibit A is the Kenmore Station rehab, projected at $22.7 million, in at more than $40 million. Then there?s the Arlington and Copley renovations, which had an initial price of $32 million but came in at $52 million.

?Part of my frustration is when some of these projects were going out to bid, the T at the time was not contemplating putting in elevators and making them (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant,? he said, noting a lawsuit forced the T to go back to the drawing board and incorporate elevators in the designs.

?Hindsight is a little 20/20, but I think a public transit agency should be thinking about becoming accessible whenever it can,? he added. ?It would have been better to have added those costs when the construction project initially began five years ago.?

Builders in the 1890s didn?t have to worry about that . .  . or labor laws.
 
Re: T construction news

^ i saw that the other day, and all i coudl think of was "Why didn't they cover the staircase? when winter starts back up again its going to be a bitch to shovel them." why not spend the little bit of extra money now to save on maintenance costs later?
 
Re: T construction news

Holy poop it's finally finished.


Anyone seen Porter lately? Removed ceiling panels = whoaaaa.
 
Re: T construction news

^ i saw that the other day, and all i coudl think of was "Why didn't they cover the staircase? when winter starts back up again its going to be a bitch to shovel them." why not spend the little bit of extra money now to save on maintenance costs later?

Because they'd cover it in some stupid glass atrium that would look like crap after a few years of not being cleaned, and it would sit for 3 more years as a giant barricaded hole in the ground while they blew out their budget in triplicate designing said glass atrium.
 
Re: T construction news

Does anyone else think Copley looks like crap? They did a nice job with the entrances, but the actual platform area looks bland and pretty crummy. Arlington on the other hand came out great and looks good.
 
Re: T construction news

Does anyone else think Copley looks like crap? They did a nice job with the entrances, but the actual platform area looks bland and pretty crummy. Arlington on the other hand came out great and looks good.

DUDE! The walls aren't even level!! Did anyone else see that? They bulge out in places. Who the fuck OKed that?
 

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