Next month’s expansion of the Silver Line into Chelsea will plug the city into Boston’s two commuter rail hubs and make it a prime location for transit-oriented development, Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack said Monday.
“Chelsea will actually be one of the only places in close proximity to Boston where folks can get to both South Station and North Station easily,” Pollack told the MBTA’s Fiscal and Management Control Board.
The city has a commuter rail station linked to North Station and the Silver Line will connect to South Station. North and South stations are not connected.
Dubbed Silver Line 3, or SL3, the bus rapid transit is expected to carry nearly 9,000 passengers per day, making a total of seven stops, linking the South Boston Seaport to Airport Station in East Boston and four new bus stations in Chelsea.
The city of Chelsea has shown commitment to creating affordable housing, according to Pollack, who said the project “lands very strongly” in the Baker administration’s transit-oriented development goals.
Construction of the $56.7 million project began in 2015 and was primarily funded by the MBTA. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation contributed $7.6 million and MassDOT’s Highway Division managed the construction. The construction contract was awarded to McCourt Construction Co. in 2014.
Buses will arrive within about 10 minutes during rush hour and 12 to 15 minutes in off-peak travel times, with fares the same as the subway, according to Jess Casey, the MBTA’s deputy COO for service planning and strategy. On much of the 5-mile route, the bus will be unimpeded by traffic, traveling in its own dedicated corridor in nearly all of Chelsea.
The Silver Line extension will be the first new introduction of service on the T in more than a decade, since the Greenbush commuter rail line, according to the T. The new service will start on Saturday April 21, and the T plans a ribbon cutting the following week, according to Casey.
“This project directly connects East Boston and Chelsea to the Seaport, providing a long-awaited connection that will allow local residents better access to one of the largest job growth sectors in the region,” East Boston Rep. Adrian Madaro said in a statement. “Moreover, this new route will help reduce congestion on our roads through its improved connection of the Silver and Blue Lines, easing travel for those going to and from Logan International Airport.”
