WATCH: MBTA’s Green Line B Branch Track Work
Written by Jennifer McLawhorn, Managing Editor
Track and tie replacement work was accomplished along the Green Line. Complimentary photo by the MBTA Customer and Employee Experience Department.
BOSTON - From August 2nd to 11th, service for the segment between Boston College and Babcock Street on the Green Line B Branch was suspended to allow crews access to complete track work.
As RT&S has reported recently, this work comes as part of MBTA’s Track Improvement Program. This program includes removing old asphalt, ballast, ties, and rail as well as installing new track, repaving, and painting. Off-track, crews work on upgrading and improving accessibility for riders.
Along the service suspension area on the Green Line, more than 13,000 feet of overhead wire was replaced. Crews replaced over 4,200 feet of restraining rail, resurfaced/tamped 5,400 feet of track, and reconstructed 4,100 feet of track, including the replacement of rail, ties, and ballast.
Crews also replaced 250 restraining rail bolts, 60 plates, 50 ties, and running rail within the Boston College Yard. Along with performing over 40 thermite welds, crews also installed almost 800 tons of pavement at Griggs Street pedestrian crossing, the Allston Street intersection, and the Warren Street grade crossing.
In order to support the Transit Programs Duct Bank project, crews installed two cast-in-place concrete duct banks. At Sutherland Road and Chiswick Road, workers reconstructed curb ramps and relocated drainage areas. Four sets of power crossarms were also replaced.
MBTA released a video showing a recap of the work that took place on the Green Line B Branch earlier this month:
MBTA General Manager and CEO Phillip Eng said, “The critical infrastructure work our contractors and MBTA crews accomplished, including intersection enhancements and accessibility upgrades, allows us to make meaningful travel improvements for Green Line riders and countless members of the public who traverse Comm. Ave. in these areas. . . Giving riders a quicker, smoother trip is a result of careful and thoughtful planning and coordination by many MBTA teams and contractor crews. I thank them for their dedicated work and the City of Boston whose support was instrumental as we managed local vehicular traffic adjacent and through the work zone. I’m proud that, as a result of this work, the B Branch is now completely restriction-free as we reverse years of underinvestment and deliver the safe, reliable, and more frequent trip that our riders deserve.”
