BOSTON (WHDH) - A day away from a month-long pause in Orange Line service that will leave commuters scrambling for travel alternatives, Boston city officials told 7NEWS that they were bracing for a chaotic period that they hope will be beneficial in the long run.
“It will be impossible to avoid chaos altogether. The mere fact that this is the time of year that people are coming back to new routines in the fall, going back in person to work, getting started with school, adding this extra layer of disruption and uncertainty will mean that people’s lives will be unpredictable,” said Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.
According to the MBTA, the month-long shutdown is to address key mechanical and safety upgrades to the train line.
City officials have identified two major hubs where streets will be closed to and shuttle buses will connect with passengers in big numbers. State Street will be closed between Congress and Washington Street and Dartmouth Street will be closed between Arborway and Williams Street. At the Forest Hills Station the northbound lanes of Washington Street will be closed between Arborway and Williams Street.
Some parking spaces are also being removed in addition to lane closures to allow shuttle buses to maneuver around tight intersections and get to sidewalks to pick up passengers.
MBTA officials announced Thursday they are adding a shuttle stop in the Chinatown neighborhood on “Silver Line Four” at the intersection of Surface Artery and Kneeland Street. A supplemental shuttle will also go from Government Center to Tufts Medical Center, Chinatown, and back to Government Center every half hour. The Supplemental shuttle will only run from 5:00 a.m.- 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.- 1:00 a.m. Commuters aren’t thrilled about the timing.
“They need to get it together, they need to have it going consistently for everyone because everybody has things going on at different times,” said Diana Sierra.
Shuttle bus drivers have been doing test runs of the Orange Line route Thursday.
“It’s a dress rehearsal for a disaster,” said commuter Jonathan Berg.
While commuters may be tempted to drive their cars into the city, officials are urging the populace to rely on public transportation.
“One full orange line train, if you took all those people and put them in cars that would be a line of traffic four miles long. We do not have space on our roads for that,” said Boston Chief of Streets Jascha Franklin-Hodge.
In addition to the cavalry of shuttle buses, some parking spaces will be taken away in order to better help the buses maneuver around tight intersections and sidewalks.
The city’s control center also plans on monitoring traffic signals to see if adjustments can be made. Mayor Wu hopes that it will be a formula successful enough to keep Boston running, even if it’s less efficient than normal.
“You have to stop and think about like things happen. We have to work together, and if we work together and we aren’t so angry, we’ll probably get through it. But if you get on the train and you’re already angry, it’s going to be a problem,” said commuter Tracee Carter.
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