Planned closures on the MBTA's Green Line D Branch for infrastructure improvements will begin Saturday, Sept, 24, the MBTA said Friday.
There will be three nine-day full-access closures of the branch on a rolling basis through Oct. 30. It is part of ongoing work to install the Green Line Train Protection System, a series of track improvements meant to improve safety.
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The closures will fall as such:
- Saturday, Sept. 24 - Sunday, Oct. 2
- Saturday, Oct. 8 - Sunday, Oct. 16
- Saturday, Oct. 22 - Sunday, Oct. 30
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The D line is the last branch to receive these upgrades, with the other branches already complete. The work includes refitting more than 6,000 feet of new track and upgrading over six station crossings.
Free shuttle buses will be available at stops between Riverside and Kenmore. The buses will not be able to stop at the Beaconsfield station due to narrow roads in that area.
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"These kinds of full-access diversions allow the T to accelerate investments and improvements across the system,” said MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak in a statement. “With three full-access diversions already successfully completed on the Green Line this summer, I am confident the Capital Transformation team will complete the D Branch promptly and on schedule, delivering an increased level of safety and reliability to our riders through track replacement work and the installation of GLTPS infrastructure. I want to thank our Green Line riders for their patience while we accomplish this critical work on a faster timeline.”
The work comes at a time when the MBTA is under intense scrutiny after a series of safety incidents, some of which ended in death. The agency made an unprecedented move to shut down the Orange Line -- which serves hundreds of thousands of daily riders -- for 30 days to complete emergency work on that line. THe Orange Line work is part of the MBTA’s response to a safety Federal Transit Administration review following several problems and accidents that have led to injuries, and in one case, the death of a rider. The FTA released a scathing 90-page report two weeks ago that said the MBTA has for years prioritized capital projects over safety and maintenance.
The Green Line work has been ongoing and was scheduled prior to that report.
