BOSTON (WHDH) - The Green Line and Orange Line are back at full service Monday after MBTA officials said their tunnels under the Government Center parking garage are safe.
T officials shut the lines under the parking garage, which is being demolished and developed by HYM, on Thursday after engineers discovered heavily deteriorated columns underneath the garage. On Sunday, T officials said the developer had installed supports to hold the garage up and that the area was structurally sound.
This announcement comes as commuters became increasingly frustrated after a series of back-to-back issues with the T.
“It’s just very inconvenient for people, especially when you have to take (the T) to work,” said T rider Indhira Sagura. “It’s good to have it back in service.”
The MBTA has blamed the developers overseeing demolition at the garage for the weakened columns, while HYM has said water damage deteriorated the columns.
The garage developer also said the incident was unrelated to March’s deadly collapse at the garage that killed one construction worker.
Gov. Charlie Baker, who has made it a key priority to address the T’s shortcomings told 7NEWS that “that beam belonged to the building dating back to the ’60s when the building was originally constructed. HYM had two years to inspect and make decisions about how they were actually going to do the process associated with taking down that garage.” He said the MBTA did “yeoman’s work” over the weekend to secure the beam and structure ahead of Monday’s morning commute.
In a statement, HYM said that “We are incredibly proud of our team and the work that was done over the weekend in order for the MBTA to resume services and reopen Congress Street as of Sunday, June 26th. In the moments since our initial discovery of the problematic subsurface column on Thursday, June 23rd, a group of women and men have been working 24 hours a day to create and implement a plan to ensure the safety of this area and all who pass through it.”
The company said the work included refortifying the water-damaged column with steel bracing.
The scope of work included refortifying the identified water-damaged column with steel bracing, which was performed successfully. This issue required an unprecedented level of teamwork and communication and we are thankful to the following partners for their work: John Moriarty & Associates, MBTA, Thornton Tomasetti, UTS, Local 7 Ironworkers, Local 22 Laborers, JF Stearns, and HYM, among others. We remain committed to maintaining a safe work environment and look forward to continuing to demolish this garage.
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