Boston, Massachusetts: MBTA Green Line Closes for Nine Days From November 7 for Signal and Accessibility Work

Boston riders get one quiet weekend, then the longest Green Line shutdown of the fall. The MBTA reminded riders on Monday that Green Line service on the central sections will close for nine straight days, from Saturday, November 7 through Sunday, November 15, so crews can work around the clock on signal modernization in the central tunnel and on accessibility upgrades at seven C Branch stations. The reminder follows the two day Halloween weekend closure on October 31 and November 1.

A signal system older than the tunnel riders know

The MBTA says the Green Line signal system is more than 100 years old, as old as the tunnel itself, and that the signals now in use date to the era when the first electric trolleys in North America entered service in the late 1800s. Crews have already installed 56 miles of new signaling cable in the central tunnel during earlier service diversions. During the nine days, they will install about 16 more miles of signal cable and about 1 mile of fiber optic cable, complete signal connections and begin testing at Copley, Park Street and Government Center, including cable work along the eastbound tracks between Park Street and Boylston and between Park Street and Government Center. When finished, the MBTA says, the new system will give better train detection, better congestion management and more consistent spacing, supporting more frequent and reliable service. It is also built for the new Type 10 cars entering passenger service next year.

Seven C Branch stations get accessibility work

The same nine days advance the C Branch station accessibility project at seven stations that are not accessible now: Englewood Avenue, Dean Road, Tappan Street, the combined Fairbanks Street and Brandon Hall station, Summit Avenue, Saint Paul Street and Hawes Street. Crews will install platform edges, curbing, lighting and signage foundations, put up the structural steel for platform canopies at the Brandon Hall and Fairbanks Street ramps, run underground conduit crossings at Hawes Street and set catenary poles at Summit Avenue. The first phase builds 8 inch platforms that meet federal accessibility rules with the current fleet. A later phase will raise the platforms by about 6 more inches, to 14 inches, for level boarding once only Type 10 cars are in service. When the project is complete, the MBTA says, every station on the C Branch will be accessible.

How to get around it

Free, accessible shuttle buses will run between Babcock Street and Back Bay on the B Branch, between Cleveland Circle and Back Bay on the C Branch, and between Kenmore and Back Bay on the D Branch, where riders can connect to the Orange Line at Back Bay. Shuttles will not stop at Saint Mary's Street, Kent Street or Brandon Hall in either direction. On the E Branch, the Route 39 bus will replace trains between Heath Street and Back Bay, with extra buses added, and it will be fare free. Route 57 will also be fare free, and the Worcester Commuter Rail Line will be fare free between South Station, Back Bay and Lansdowne. The MBTA's own example is blunt: a rider going from Cleveland Circle to Park Street should budget at least 25 extra minutes. Full details are at MBTA.com/GreenLine.