MBTA moves forward with Wollaston Red Line Station project

Written by Maggie Lancaster, assistant editor
image description

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) is moving forward with improvements at the Wollaston Red Line Station.

The MBTA Fiscal and Management Control Board approved the beginning of new construction earlier this summer. Work includes major accessibility improvements, state-of-the-art safety features and additional parking. Currently the only non ADA-accessible station on the Red Line, Wollaston will be transformed into a modern, fully accessible facility, making the entirety of the Red Line 100-percent accessible. New features and upgrades to the station include new elevators, additional customer paths, upgraded stairways, new bathrooms and additional lighting. New electrical, fire protection, security, flooding mitigation and site utility upgrades will also occur to support the accessible improvements. The estimated construction value of the Wollaston Station improvements is $33 million.

The MBTA has already committed $911 million to Red Line South Side projects, including 252 new Red Line cars that will begin full revenue service in November 2019. The renovations at Wollaston Station are a major part of a series of signal, rail and other infrastructure upgrades along the Red Line.

The Wollaston Station will temporarily close for approximately twenty months beginning in late December 2017 with an anticipated re-opening in August 2019. Red Line trains will bypass Wollaston Station during the closure with dedicated bus service between Wollaston and North Quincy Stations. Beginning in mid-November 2017, weeknight Red Line service along the Braintree Branch after 9 p.m. will be replaced with shuttle buses. It is also anticipated that, beginning in January 2018, Saturday and Sunday Red Line service between North Quincy and Braintree Stations will also be replaced with shuttle buses during eighteen weekends over the course of approximately 24 months.

Demolition work at the Quincy Center Station Garage, which was closed in July 2012 due to structural concerns, is also scheduled to begin in early 2018. As part of the work at Quincy Center Station, the existing elevator will be completely replaced and an accessible entrance at Burgin Parkway will be added. Construction of the project will occur through December 2018 for a construction value of $13 million. The station will remain open and fully functional during construction.

Tags: