MBTA suspends Blue Line to save millions on tunnel project

The MBTA has been under scrutiny by the FTA for months.

MBTA

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Blue Line service will be suspended for a number of days to help accelerate work in the harbor tunnel and on a pedestrian bridge.

The work schedule change will save between $2-3 million in tunnel activities alone.

Service will be paused from April 25 to May 8 between Airport and Bowdoin stations and May 12 to May 29 between Wonderland and Orient Heights stations.

At the harbor tunnel site, crews will speed up track replacement work and other infrastructure improvements between April 25 and May 8. There will be 1,800 ft of full depth track replacement at a cost of $5 million. Other activities will include tunnel and drainage system inspections, sealing leaks, upgrading tunnel lighting, fiber optic cable installation, the removal of abandoned cable, and signal repairs.

The 14-day work acceleration will be done instead of one year of work during nights and weekends. The move will cut costs involved in moving equipment and crews each time during the night and weekend closure approach.

Read more articles on track maintenance.