MBTA "Transformation" (Green Line, Red Line, & Orange Line Transformation Projects)

The near-term B and C accessibility/stop consolidation projects are not part of the Core Capacity program.
 
While accessibility and safety improvements are “long overdue,” Bill Smith, the town’s construction project manager, wrote in an email to Brookline.News, “The town has voiced (and continues to voice) deep concerns about impacts to Beacon Street.”

The T has said it anticipates multiple stations to be under construction at once to meet the project schedule. Work will be “substantially completed in 2026,” according to a T report, and any temporary disruption to the C Branch service will be replaced by shuttle bus services.
[...]
Brookline town officials and residents have indicated concerns about the C Line project’s environmental and economic impact, as well as decreased accessibility for seniors who live at the senior living apartment complex near the Fairbanks stop and benefit from its current location.

The T’s design plans show that 91 to 100 parking spaces will be eliminated along the Dean Road, Hawes, Fairbanks/Brandon Hall, St. Paul, and Tappan Street stations to accommodate the wider platforms. EDAB members have suggested that getting rid of even a small number of spots would affect small businesses on the corner of Summit Ave and Beacon Street.
 
If your business is completely reliant on free parking to survive, then you don't have a business; you have an enterprise collecting subsidies from the public.
 
During the closure, the usual alternative services will be available:

  • There will be free shuttle bus service that will make stops at all of the stations between Back Bay and Forest Hills. During the weekend closures between Back Bay and North Station, riders are encouraged to use parallel Green Line. service instead.
  • The Commuter Rail trains will be fare-free between Forest Hills, Ruggles, Back Bay, and South Station.
  • Route 39, the frequent-service bus route that runs from Forest Hills to Back Bay station via Huntington Avenue, will also be fare-free, with additional service during the closure.
  • Plan extra time in commutes and anticipate longer than normal travel times for shuttles.
 
They're not really comparable projects. Off the top of my head:
  • Newton Highlands is a more physically constrained environment - a trench in a village center, with no road access to track level. Overhead lines make crane access difficult. Almost everything will have to be hi-railed in from Eliot or Chestnut Hill, or brought down from street level. All of this has to take place without damaging the historic station building. North Wilmington had easy truck access along the ROW and from Jefferson Road.
  • Newton Highlands has trains every few minutes 21 hours a day. A lot of work will require single-tracking or evening/weekend shutdowns. Because the station abuts residential properties, night work may be limited. At North Wilmington, work could take place between trains with minimal disruption.
  • Because Newton Highlands is being rebuilt in place, passengers have to be accommodated at all times. Single-tracking requires additional staff; station or line closures require busing. Accessibility has to be maintained during construction (or an accessible shuttle provided), including during the transition to Type 10 LRVs. At North Wilmington, the new platform was away from the old and service could continue normally, and the existing platform was not accessible.
  • North Wilmington was a minimalist design - recycled bridge decks, metal ramps, deck-type foundations - that may or may not be long-lasting. With ~60 passengers a day, it will see minimal wear. Newton Highlands will have sturdier platforms, paved ramps, etc - facilities suitable for >1,000 daily boardings.
 
North Wilmington was just rebuilt to be fully accessible. It cost $2.7 million. What makes this project 12 times as expensive?
In addition to what @The EGE said, North Wilmington opted for a Lynn Interim-clone 2-car freestanding temp platform because of the uncertainty of whether that stop will exist at all should the Rail Vision get implemented and all thru-Haverhill trains get relocated to the NH Main leaving just the Reading short-turns. It's only got about a dozen years of life in it before the deck starts decaying from settling.

$3.2M is actually a little expensive for that type of job, but I think that a good chunk of that was related to utility work for lighting and comms which didn't exist at the very spartan old station.
 

Back
Top