BOSTON (WHDH) - Come Friday, a city that already deals with regular amounts of congested traffic will see busy streets that are worse than usual.
As Boston prepares to shut down the MBTA Orange Line on Friday for a month-long period of maintenance and repair, residents told 7NEWS that they expect travel to be more difficult than usual.
Janya Fulton, a student of UMass Boston, told 7NEWS that she is planning on driving her car into the city if the bus routes prove too cumbersome.
“I’ll give it three days just to see if it’s a bit more organized,” said Fulton. “If not, I will drive.”
While the replacement bus routes will extend north and south through Boston, they will not travel entirely through the city itself.
Chris Crompton, General Manager of Old Town Trolley Tours, is expecting the streets to be more difficult to navigate than ever for his fleet of 25 vehicles, but still hopes to deliver the service tourists in Boston deserve.
“We’ll have to make adjustments to the tour,” said Crompton. “In order to, number one, make sure we’re still showcasing the city and giving people a good time but that we’re also not getting in the way of a public transit that needs to be bringing people into town.”
In the midst of the chaos, MBTA spokesperson Joe Pesaturo told 7NEWS that adaptation and flexibility will be key for the MBTA during the shutdown period.
“If the T sees crowding occurring at certain stations and the T has the shuttle bus capacity, then staff may make a decision in real time to offer a direct Orange Line station to downtown shuttle option,” said Pesaturo.
MBTA officials also told 7NEWS that there will be no express shuttles to Boston, and that those looking to get into Boston quickly should look to use the commuter rail.
“If new travel information becomes available or any alterations are made, we’ll be announcing it at MBTA.com as well as through our social media channels” said MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak.
Yankee Buses said they are importing buses from as far as Dallas and Fort Lauderdale to add to the pool of replacement buses.
“Our team is working around the clock… We’re on pace to log over 5,400 training hours over the next several days leading up to this product,” said a statement from Yankee Line.
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