A 30-day shutdown of the Orange Line is expected to cause “severe” congestion on roadways around Greater Boston as commuters who rely on the MBTA seek alternative transportation methods and Boston officials warn of a “transportation emergency.”
Days ahead of the planned shutdown — scheduled to start Friday at 9 p.m. — state officials are urging riders to stay away from their cars if at all possible in an effort to reduce what is anticipated to be logjammed roads all around the city.
With an average of 101,000 riders relying on the Orange Line every day from Malden to Jamaica Plain, State Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver said traffic modeling suggests the shutdown will “have substantial regional travel impacts beyond just transit users” with some effects starting as early as this week.
“I know that some transit users may be considering driving as an alternative to the shuttle buses. I assure you that that is not a good option and you should look to other transit options such as the commuter rail,” he said during a Monday morning press conference in Boston. “Traffic congestion is expected to be severe.”
City of Boston Chief of Streets Jascha Franklin-Hodge put it more bluntly.
“The loss of a major transit line is a transportation emergency,” he said. “... Where possible, we ask people to refrain from driving as we expect region-wide traffic impacts during this period.”
MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak said the decision to shut down the Orange Line — which was prompted by a Federal Transit Administration safety inspection and followed a series of train derailments, injuries, a train fire, a passenger death, and collisions — was not taken lightly.
“I acknowledge that this closure will be disruptive, but people want and deserve safe and reliable service and we want to give it to them and this is a way for us to effectively invest in maintaining the system,” Poftak said, adding that the closure allows crews to perform five years’ worth of work in 30 days and the agency will lose around $3.5 million in fare revenue as a result.
In announcing the shutdown, the MBTA also inked a $37 million contract with A Yankee Line, a bus company with offices in Boston, to run up to 200 vehicles tasked with ferrying commuters along the Orange Line.
Shuttle buses will make runs between Oak Grove and Haymarket/Government Center and Back Bay and Forest Hills stations. Commuters will need to walk between certain Orange Line and Green Line stops downtown.
A full guide to getting around during the Orange Line closure is available on the MBTA’s website.
Boston officials in recent days have started to prepare for the influx of shuttle buses to the city. Franklin-Hodge said workers started to install the first temporary bus lanes Sunday night around Copley Square and would move on to Government Center over the course of the next few days.
“We’ve begun making changes to our streets. We are adding bus lanes at various points along the shuttle route,” Franklin-Hodge said. “We’re analyzing the shuttle route to make sure that busses can safely travel and turn, especially on the streets that don’t normally accommodate bus traffic.”
Gulliver said the buses the MBTA is using are not the same as the regular ones seen on routes all across Boston. The Yankee Line buses, he said, have different turning radiuses and blind spots for drivers.
“If you are walking or biking near the shuttle buses … you need to be extra vigilant, especially around these bus stops and turns and intersections,” he said. "
The MBTA is also encouraging riders to take the Commuter Rail, where transit in Zones 1A, 1, and 2 will be free during the shutdown. Trains will make stops at Forest Hills, Ruggles, Back Bay, North Station, Malden Center, and Oak Grove.
In a Friday statement, the MBTA warned riders that “regional congestion is expected to increase substantially” following the shutdown.
“At that time, all travelers across all modes are strongly encouraged to avoid driving through the area altogether, work from home if possible, consider rescheduling trips through the area that are not absolutely necessary, or for necessary travel, expect significant traffic congestion and travel delays,” the statement said.
The month-long closure of the Orange Line has been pitched as a necessary move to replace aging infrastructure the Federal Transit Administration has identified as posing a safety risk. An FTA safety directive issued in June pointed to several spots on the Orange Line that “displayed evidence of excessive wear and defects.”
MBTA workers plan to replace over 3,500 feet of 38-year-old track and ties that “will allow for the removal of speed restrictions, improving travel time.” The agency also plans to install upgraded signals at Oak Grove and Malden stations, work on the Southwest Corridor of the Orange Line, and put in new crossovers that facilitate the movement of trains.
Gov. Charlie Baker said there will be four sites along the line where crews can store equipment.
“Once they’re there, they’re there,” he said. “And that’s a big part of what makes it possible to do so much work over such a short period of time because you’re not sacrificing what would otherwise be productive time you could be spending doing the work getting your gear onto the tracks.”
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