Today's joint meeting of the MassDOT Board and the Fiscal and Management Control Board included an update on the Green Line Extension, and there's a bit of bad news. The Union Square line will open in December instead of October, and the Medford branch will open in May 2022 instead of December. There were rumors that such a delay was coming. View the slides for more details. PR_20210621_GLX-FMCB-PresentationDownload
"A remarkable turnaround for Green Line extension" (CommonWealth Magazine) "The idea that extending the Green Line from Lechmere into Somerville and Medford could come in under budget is somewhat remarkable given its tangled and tortured history. In its early stages, the price tag of the project ballooned from $2 billion to $3 billion and forced state transportation officials to redesign and revamp the project to eliminate roughly $1 billion in costs." "MBTA finds that the Green Line Extension will disproportionately benefit richer, whiter riders" (Boston.com) "Somerville — which will see the percentage of residents within a half-mile of a transit stop increase from 20 percent to 80 percent when GLX service begins — has seen its old, blue-collar reputation transformed by an influx of young professionals and new development in the years since state officials…
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Good news from the MBTA: General Manager Steve Poftak revealed at the March 29 MBTA board meeting that the Green Line construction is on schedule and that the Union Square branch will likely open in October, with the other stations along the Medford line opening in December. Edward Orde on Twitter noticed that the MBTA map at the Ruggles station already includes the Green Line Extension: The new map also shows that the Riverside “D” branch will run to Union Square and the Heath Street “E” branch will run to Medford. It's coming!
New Green Line Stops Bring New Public Art to Medford, Somerville, and Cambridge (StreetsBlog) In a statement, MBTA officials wrote that “this GLX Art Enrichment Program seeks to contribute to the vibrancy of the GLX communities by investing in the success of local artists… The goal is to enhance existing station elements to create a warm and welcoming environment in key areas experienced by the riding public, to both unify and differentiate stations, and to enhance the connection between the station and the community.”
Can't wait for the Green Line Extension to open? Curious how the construction is going? Now you can watch via several live cameras positioned along the line. Here's a camera near Ball Square: View more live cameras
If you missed the official Green Line Extension construction update, you can watch it here or view the slides. https://youtu.be/ndgGZtB6Psg
While we're all still stuck at home, construction continues on the Green Line Extension. Thanks to Richard McKinnon of East Cambridge for this photo overlooking the coming Lechmere station.
The Lechmere Green Line station vanished practically overnight as GLX construction continues. Thanks to the Cambridge Historical Commission, we can step back in time to 1922 and imagine what it felt like back then...