MBTA Construction Projects

The outbound stairs and elevator:
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Beams for the inbound platform on the Waterman Road bridge:
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The bridge over the rotary. The north end of the outbound platform will be over the right (south) section of the rotary.
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Winchester Station is looking really nice! I hope for two things. #1. They maintain it properly for YEARS to come. (No repeat of Lynn, South Attleboro, and Ashland.) #2. We have more stations like this that are interesting and not just a platform and shed roof.
 
Java King said:
Winchester Station is looking really nice! I hope for two things. #1. They maintain it properly for YEARS to come. (No repeat of Lynn, South Attleboro, and Ashland.) #2. We have more stations like this that are interesting and not just a platform and shed roof.
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Winchester is very wealthy and thereby has the clout to ensure the station is well maintained in the future.
 
The EGE said:
What exactly "interesting" are you looking for at other stations?
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I just think the glass elevator structure is nice. As you say, maybe it's just the fact that this is elevated through Winchester Center that makes it interesting. I guess I would like to see a partially enclosed waiting area and maybe a food or coffee option at major stations like you see outside of London.
 
Java King said:
I just think the glass elevator structure is nice. As you say, maybe it's just the fact that this is elevated through Winchester Center that makes it interesting. I guess I would like to see a partially enclosed waiting area and maybe a food or coffee option at major stations like you see outside of London.
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Now, now, we would not want to offer any amenities that might make people want to use public transit. ;)
 
The EGE said:
The interim platforms at Lynn aren't anything to write home about, but they should be serviceable enough for a few years while the T gets its act together on the permanent station rebuild.
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This is really nice to see. They should do this with any station that needs to be taken out of service for maintenance.
 
Unfortunately, the other two stations out of service for repairs are cases where there's no simple fix. Winchester Center is on an embankment and the entire ramp structure was in bad shape; there's nowhere nearby to stick temporary platforms. (At Lynn, the tracks go from above grade to below grade just east of Central Square, so the temporary platforms are barely above street level.) At South Attleboro, the footbridge was the deteriorated portion, and Amtrak (rightfully) would not allow an at-grade track crossing given the number of trains that pass through the station at speed.

The good news is that this temporary platform design is going to appear at stations where vertical circulation isn't an issue. Beverly, where the 1980s mini-highs are in bad shape, is supposed to have them installed this spring while a full reconstruction (presumably with full-length high platforms) is planned. If that's successful, they'd be added at the four highest-ridership non-accessible stations - West Medford, Wellesley Square, Franklin/Dean College, and Walpole - while full reconstructions are planned. I've heard worries that the MBTA would build the temporary platforms and then never do the permanent reconstructions, but neither the state nor federal accessibility agencies would be pleased with that.
 
The EGE said:
The interim platforms at Lynn aren't anything to write home about, but they should be serviceable enough for a few years while the T gets its act together on the permanent station rebuild.
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I was wondering whether the station signs would read “Lynn Interim” like it does on the T’s website :ROFLMAO:
The EGE said:
The good news is that this temporary platform design is going to appear at stations where vertical circulation isn't an issue. Beverly, where the 1980s mini-highs are in bad shape, is supposed to have them installed this spring while a full reconstruction (presumably with full-length high platforms) is planned. If that's successful, they'd be added at the four highest-ridership non-accessible stations - West Medford, Wellesley Square, Franklin/Dean College, and Walpole - while full reconstructions are planned. I've heard worries that the MBTA would build the temporary platforms and then never do the permanent reconstructions, but neither the state nor federal accessibility agencies would be pleased with that.
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This is indeed great news. What’s the difference between a platform like this vs a “real” new platform? I’ve never quite understood why building full-highs should be quite so difficult.
 
Riverside said:
This is indeed great news. What’s the difference between a platform like this vs a “real” new platform? I’ve never quite understood why building full-highs should be quite so difficult.
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Little tardy on the reply, but note from the pics that the Lynn platform is freestanding on cement blocks. The 1-car mini-high Cape Flyer platform at Bourne is similar:
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Just a prefab deck slapped on top of generic construction blocks sourced from MassHighway's leftover materials inventory. There's no poured foundation whatsoever, so the lifespan of the platform is basically how many years it takes for everything to start settling out-of-alignment. Buys you 10 years at most, and then very rapid decay starts inevitably setting in. They trialed it for Bourne at the site underneath the bridge because local officials were deadlocked on their preferred site with parking for the Bourne station. Temporary Lynn got the same treatment on a rush job, albeit with a somewhat longer 2-car platform. North Wilmington's basically getting the same as an accessibility punt while they figure out if the Rail Vision is even going to place that station on Western Route schedules. And the temp mini-highs they're band-aiding at Beverly are going to do the same thing.

It's a band-aid, but if strategically placed and not simply a "band-aid all the falling-apart things to kick the can to the next Administration" cop-out it can cheaply bridge the planning & design interregnum for the permanent solutions. Especially if MassDOT has a large-enough supply of those cement blocks still onhand.
 
Lynn, Lynn, the city of sin. You don't come out the way that you went in!! Hah!!!! :)
 
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