A six-week long closure that transportation officials had planned for the Green Line Extension this summer has been reduced to 25 days, with work beginning in mid-September.
Initially, the state Department of Transportation and MBTA aimed to close the Union Square branch for 42 days between July and August, to accommodate repair work on the Squires Bridge, which carries McGrath Highway over Green Line tracks in Somerville.
But officials announced Wednesday the length of the closure has been cut to 25 days, commencing Sept. 18 and ending by mid October. The project will be focused on “completing critical beam end repairs, along with additional preventive actions, to ensure the bridge can remain open and safe for use,” they said.
“Because the Squires Bridge work must be performed within the Green Line right of way, transit service on the Union Branch will terminate at Lechmere Station during construction,” officials said in a release. “Bridge work will not impact motor vehicle travel across the bridge, Commuter Rail service on the Fitchburg Line, or Green Line service to Medford/Tufts.”
MassDOT crews inspected the bridge in early July, and determined it was safe to delay repairs until September “so that the closure does not occur at the same time as the Sumner Tunnel closure and to allow appropriate time to explore mitigation options and communicate with the public,” a governor’s spokesperson previously told the Herald.
The Sumner Tunnel is due to open Friday.
The initial plan prompted “cause for alarm” from Somerville state representatives who wrote a letter to state officials about their concerns regarding the Green Line Extension shutdown.
“This is a big improvement,” state Rep. Michael Connolly said of the updated project, “and yet I will continue advocating for all necessary mitigation and communication efforts during this inconvenience, especially for the Fluff Festival on Sept. 23 and for all necessary bus service to Lechmere and East Somerville stations, and for extra BlueBike availability.”
Officials highlighted how Squires Bridge averages 40,000 motor vehicles a day, roughly the equivalent travel volumes through the Sumner Tunnel. About 1,500 people board the Green Line at Union Square each weekday, with fewer boardings on the weekend, according to data the MBTA accumulated for January through March 2023.
“We know this will come as an inconvenience to Green Line riders and we have worked to adjust our construction schedule to minimize impacts as much as possible while balancing the need to complete necessary infrastructure work,” MassDOT Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver said in the release.