Blue Line to be shut for two weeks in April for tunnel work

By adamg on Thu, 03/24/2022 - 9:50am

Get ready for buses between April 2 and April 14, the Beacon Hill Times reports.

Topics:

The T

Free tagging:

Blue Line

Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Ad:

Comments

Really bizarre

By ScottB
Thu, 03/24/2022 - 12:21pm

That they're doing a major shutdown of the Blue Line for basically two weeks and only giving people ~10 days' notice to plan for it. If you're commuting from Revere into the city this adds at least half an hour each way, optimistically, to your commute.

Yeah, ripping off the band

By anon
Thu, 03/24/2022 - 1:56pm

Yeah, ripping off the band-aid and getting this done in 2 weeks makes sense compared to a year of night and weekend shutdowns. But they should have publicized it better.

It would also be nice if they reactivated Back Bay Logan Express. It was created during the Government Center closure and kept running after that, but never started up again after the pandemic shutdown.

Agreed

By tcmbos
Thu, 03/24/2022 - 10:10pm

Extra 30 is optimistic, considering how many times I've been on shuttles and we've had to help the drivers get to East Boston from Boston and then navigate East Boston. Ah, fun times.

And the orange line is shut

By Kinopio
Thu, 03/24/2022 - 2:02pm

And the orange line is shut down this weekend because of the demolition of a car garage. America in a nut shell.

You hate cars

By ElizaLeila
Thu, 03/24/2022 - 4:12pm

Why are you not rejoicing?

I'm still trying too

By cybah
Thu, 03/24/2022 - 6:16pm

I'm still trying to understand the orange line & green line shutdowns. Green line I kinda get, see below.

Its an above ground parking structure. One that is gonna take several of these 'shutdowns' to take down (its being down by the piece). Its not like its gonna be imploded.

So tell me.. Why shutdown the orange line and haymarket station? Why not just bypass the station.

The station, specifically the orange line.. and underground subway that tunnels just brush the construction area (tracks are under the old bus loop & Surface Road). The station itself isn't under the area (close, but setting up walkways away from the zone would work).

The green line I kinda get, as the entrance and station are under the construction area. But the orange line no. I'd even get if they were closer to the ground & dealing with pilings and such. But no, they are still removing what's left of the top floor office (and part of the deck over Congress).

It just doesn't make a whole lot of sense to shut it down so many times to a bit overzealous about safety cuz something "might fall and puncture the tunnel walls while a moving train is in it". Its piece by piece deconstruction.. its pretty unlikely it would happen. (especially since the areas not near the T are done during the day and nothing has happened)

When this project was proposed a few years ago I said "the T riders will get screwed in the process and end result" and it seems we are....

Safety

By ElizaLeila
Thu, 03/24/2022 - 9:10pm

I know you said it's close to the tracks and not directly over, but any construction to do with and near any T structure is looked at from a ton of safety angles. It may not make sense to us above ground, but it is possible that there is something more underground we're not aware of.

The truth is that with any entity that concerns the travel going public has to maintain the highest level of safety when it comes to construction.

And yet the city let people walk, bike, and drive under it

By Ron Newman
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 6:15pm

on Congress Street, around 2 pm today when I biked through.

...and partial collapse at

By Rob
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 7:06pm

...and partial collapse at the demo site this afternoon (26th).
---
You program the inconvenience (line shutdown, bus substitute) so that if something goes badly wrong (partial collapse at demo site) you don't have to worry about the dominoes falling and a second something going badly wrong.

First off…

By ChrisInEastie
Fri, 03/25/2022 - 9:29am

Seriously? I’ve heard absolutely nothing about this shutdown until just now.

Second, I’d think you of all people would be happy to see parking eliminated in this city, especially in a part of the city that (construction interruptions excluded) is extremely transit friendly.

We should probably be more angry that all of this is happening to benefit developers of a luxury condo building with units starting at $3mil. Literally the last thing we need around here.

Did they consider a single

By anon
Thu, 03/24/2022 - 2:15pm

Did they consider a single-track operation? If NYC could do it with the L train, it surely could work here, especially with reduced ridership during the pandemic.

Well...

By Rob
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 7:22pm

Well...
NYCTA tends to have their lines with the two tracks side-by-side, with enough switches to make a small section of one-track operation practical. MBTA - I don't know for sure, but I get the impression riding some of the subway lines that they don't have as many switches (per unit length) as NYC. Also, there are areas - maybe due to age or the narrow streets they were digging in (compared to avenues in Manhattan) that the two directions of track are one on top of the other, or have structural walls between tracks - reducing the possibility of having switches.
Also, it depends on what the shutdown is for. It's one thing if your purpose is to shut off power to one side to install new rails or upgrade the signals, while keeping the other side active. It's something else entirely if you just don't want people or vehicles in an area (even bypassing a station) if there's a chance something external could go wrong (like partial collapse at a demo site)

express shuttles will be

By Refugee
Thu, 03/24/2022 - 2:41pm

express shuttles will be servicing Airport, Aquarium, State (drop off only) and Government Center. Local shuttles will service Airport, Maverick, Aquarium, State (drop off only) and Government Center.

Thankfully they're not routing every single shuttle through Maverick this time.

Drop-off only?

By redlinerider
Thu, 03/24/2022 - 5:35pm

So does this mean none of the shuttles will pick up at State? I find that kind of odd, but maybe the idea is to direct people on foot from Government Center.

Classic MBTA planning

By abpsparent
Thu, 03/24/2022 - 3:11pm

Scene: MBTA Headquarters

MBTA Official #1 "Looks like the blue line needs some work?"

MBTA Official #2 "Yeah, but it's been this long already. What's the rush?"

MBTA Official #3 "I've got an idea, let's do the repairs the two weeks before one of the busiest days of the year! The Boston Marathon!! What could possibly go wrong?"

MBTA Official #1 "That's a great idea! We always finish our projects on time."

MBTA Officials #2 & #3 "Yeah we do!!"

Camera pans away with three grown men rolling around on the floor laughing hysterically

Should be a bus lane iin the

By DPM
Thu, 03/24/2022 - 5:15pm

Should be a bus lane iin the Sumner tunnel to make up for the capacity issues.

We need a bike tunnel to maverick.

Is there typically a slowdown

By anon
Fri, 03/25/2022 - 2:07pm

Is there typically a slowdown in the tunnel that buses need to bypass?

at least, honesty

By anon
Fri, 03/25/2022 - 8:25am

This work will also make our service just a little more reliable in the future.

Not too much; not fully reliable; just a little.

Word to the wise. This will

By anon
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 12:01am

Word to the wise. This will not improve trains delays and signal problems. It didn't for the Orange Line, at least. Nor the Red Line.