What to know about shutdowns on the MBTA’s Orange, Green, and Red lines this month
Regular service will be impacted on numerous weekends in January.
Passengers of the MBTA’s Red, Orange, and Green lines will have to navigate multiple service disruptions this month.
The agency outlined the specifics of how each line will be impacted in a statement posted online Monday. Some of the disruptions are due to the continued demolition of the Government Center Garage by HYM Construction, a private developer, according to the MBTA. Other changes are necessary to fix a pedestrian bridge with a “critical structural issue” at the JFK/UMass station.
The disruptions will begin this weekend. Orange and Green Line trains will not stop at Haymarket on Jan. 7 and 8, or on Jan. 21 and 22. Orange Line riders are being encouraged to exit at North Station or State and walk to the Haymarket area. Green Line riders are encouraged to exit at North Station or at Government Center. These are less than a half-mile walk from Haymarket.
MBTA buses that service the Haymarket area will not be diverted during these weekends, and will continue to stop at the station.
The Green Line’s Medford Branch will also be impacted this weekend. Shuttle buses are scheduled to replace regular subway cars on the recently-opened branch. The buses will run between the Medford/Tufts and East Somerville stations in both directions all day on Jan. 8. This is so emergency repair work can be made on water lines that service Medford/Tufts station. Riders can also use the MBTA’s 80 and 87 bus routes to move through the area.
Shuttle buses are set to replace regular Red Line service between the Broadway and Ashmont stations and between Broadway and North Quincy stations on Jan. 7 and 8. This will allow crews to repair the pedestrian bridge between Columbia Road and the lobby of the JFK/UMass station.
Service on the Orange Line and the Green Line will be interrupted again on Jan. 14 and 15. The Orange Line will close between Back Bay and North Station, and riders are being asked to use the Green Line instead, to move between Copley and Government Center.
Green Line service between North Station and Government Center will be replaced with shuttle bus service on Jan. 14 and 15.
While this will allow demolition to continue at the parking garage, it will also let MBTA workers perform maintenance on track, signal, and power systems. This will include the replacement of rail between Chinatown and Tufts Medical Center stations.
The MBTA said that extra personnel and Transit Ambassadors will be working at these locations to assist riders. More information on alternative paths can be found at mbta.com/alerts.
Officials expect more weekend diversions in the coming months due to the complex demolition work taking place at the Government Center Garage.