An Orange Line train pulls into the MBTA's Wellington station.
Nine days into an unprecedented 30-day shutdown of one of its major subway lines, the MBTA says it’s already completed 37 percent of the work it set out to complete.
The claim was included in video the transit agency released Monday morning of Gov. Charlie Baker inspecting work in the Downtown Crossing station in Boston over the weekend.
The breakdown of what projects have been completed over the weekend was not immediately available, but the agency said Friday afternoon that it was 28 percent complete with its planned projects, as measured by the dollar value of each project. That announcement came with a detailed list of work completed so far:
- Rail replacement between Downtown Crossing and State Street stations, removing one of six slow zones caused by degraded track that the T said it was targeting with the shutdown. Federal safety inspectors said these areas of degraded track were an area of major concern for them.
- Ductwork and asphalt installed for special track work at Wellington Station.
- Two pieces of “special trackwork” and unspecified weather-resiliency infrastructure installed at Wellington designed to protect against snow and ice.
- Replaced over 100 ties on the Orange Line’s bridge over the Mystic River.
- Replaced around half the ties and crossover switches near Ruggles and Jackson stations.
- Began replacing “Cologne Egg” rail fasteners – designed to reduce vibration from passing trains – just south of the Tufts Medical Center Station. This project is only 10 percent complete, the T said.
- Completed 19 percent of work to upgrade signals at Oak Grove and Malden Center stations and set up test trains for future testing
If the T is able to complete its planned work before the end of the 30-day shutdown, General Manager Steve Poftak said crews will move on to additional projects “queued up” to take advantage of the opportunity.
The T also said it had 8 of a planned 10 brand-new Orange Line trains ready for service when the line reopens Sept. 19. The new trains will be a crucial link in T officials’ hopes to improve the line’s reliability and safety.
T officials say the month-long shutdown will replace five years of night work and weekend shutdowns by eliminating the several hours needed to bring construction equipment and materials into the Orange Line’s subway tunnels, set up work and clean up to allow regular service to resume.
So far, bus and commuter rail shuttle service appears to be working well, but the acid test will come Sept. 6 with the end of many workers’ and schools’ summer vacations.
