Prepare for a brutal summer of MBTA shutdowns and shuttle buses
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Photo illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios. Photo: Lane Turner/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
A cascade of overlapping MBTA service suspensions will make this spring a hard one for subway riders as the T accelerates a push to modernize aging infrastructure.
Why it matters: The disruptions are meant to correct years of deferred maintenance.
- The T under General Manager Phil Eng is moving fast on safety and accessibility upgrades — but that means some near-term commuter pain in the busy summer months.
Green Line
The big one: Symphony station shuts down entirely on June 6 for about three years.
- The T is going to install four new elevators and raise platforms for step-free boarding. That work can't be done while trains are running.
- Things will be rough around the Back Bay, Fenway and Northeastern University areas.
- Riders can reach the NEU campus or Prudential stations on foot or connect to the Orange Line at Massachusetts Avenue.
The Green Line's E Branch will go dark between Government Center and Heath Street from May 30 through June 5 to install new safety infrastructure.
- Riders should plan for at least 10 extra minutes schlepping onto what the T is calling an "enhanced Route 39 bus" along Huntington Avenue.
The C Branch is also running short at the moment.
- Outbound trains are skipping the Englewood Avenue station through July 10. Inbound trains bypass Tappan Street through June 12, with outbound trains also skipping Tappan from June 13 through July 10.
- Riders can use the nearby Washington Square, Dean Road or Cleveland Circle stops as alternates.
Red Line
Signal upgrades mean the return of shuttle buses for South Boston, Dorchester and Quincy Red Line riders.
- Both the Braintree and Ashmont branches will see more weekend suspensions between Broadway and Ashmont, and between Broadway and North Quincy, from May 29–31.
- The T says to add 40–50 minutes to their commute for all that busing. Accessible van service is also available on request.
- The Commuter Rail will be free between South Station and Braintree during the work.
Orange Line
- JP and points north have it good. Subway service is running normally on the Orange Line with an expanded spring schedule.
- One small hiccup: The Forest Hills Pedal and Park bike cage remains closed pending repairs.
Blue Line
- Regular service is back following early May infrastructure work.
- Bowdoin Station's lobby escalator remains closed indefinitely until it can be replaced.
The bottom line: Shuttles and shutdowns are part of the compounding cost of an aging transit system getting an overhaul.
- Plan ahead and remember those weekend diversions.