SOMERVILLE, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — The Green Line Extension project is bringing some major station shutdowns this spring, but the project is well under way, and WBZ NewsRadio's Karyn Regal got a close-up view of the construction progress Friday.
Drivers on Route 93 may have spotted a new set of arcing overpasses that have gone up near the T's Commuter Rail Maintenance Facility.
Project Manager John Dalton said those tracks are headed to Somerville's Union Square, where a new station will be constructed.
"The track is going to be going to a future Union Square station, this big swooping curve right here," Dalton said, pointing at the overpasses. "We have a track coming from the future station that will take people to Boston, and the main artery of the Green Line Medford Branch is passing overhead, which will take people on into Medford and Somerville."
The MBTA announced last month that, as part of the project, Lechmere Station will be shut down from May 2020 to April 2021. That's because the nearly century-old station is being replaced with a new one across the street, in addition to the six new T stops that will be built between Lechmere and Medford.
Science Park Station will also be shut down.
"It's a big deal," Dalton said. "When we take the viaduct out of service this spring, it's gonna be another layer of inconvenience and impact that's going to affect how people are existing. But I would just ask that people continue to be patient."
As for the tracks going through Somerville to Medford, even more work had to be done. Commuter Rail tracks had to be shifted to make way for the new Green Line tracks, as well as a new community bike path—and before all that could be done, major drainage work needed to be completed.
Many parts of the massive project are incredibly intricate, involving building new track next to existing Commuter Rail track without much room to spare.
Dalton said the T has tried to mitigate construction noise, including using trucks that make a softer kind of sound when backing up.
The MBTA said on its Green Line Extension landing page that 35 percent of the construction is complete. The $2,118,600,000 project, which will extend the Green Line from Lechmere to both Union Square in Somerville and College Avenue in Medford, is set to be completed in fall 2021.
Check out photos of the construction below:
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