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Boston's Morning Newsletter
How to get around the sprawling Green Line shutdowns starting this week
Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from WBUR's daily morning newsletter, WBUR Today. If you like what you read and want it in your inbox, sign up here.
Green Line riders might want to stay home this week and eat what remains of those Thanksgiving leftovers. Today marks the beginning of multiple simultaneous partial shutdowns and early closures on the Green Line, as the MBTA begins its yearlong campaign to repair track defects and remove slow zones across the system.
It’s going to be a little messy. I mean, just look at this chart:
In fact, that doesn’t even capture the full picture. Here’s a branch-by-branch breakdown of what riders can expect this week and month:
Downtown (aka the trunk): This is probably the most disruptive. All of the Green Line between North Station and Copley will be closed for nine days, today through next Tuesday, Dec. 5. There’s also no replacement shuttle service along this particular stretch.
- Your best alternative public transit option? It’s probably taking the Orange Line between North and Back Bay stations — a five-minute walk from Copley Square. (You may still need to hop on a shuttle if you’re headed farther west.)
- The T is also making the commuter rail free to ride between South Station, Back Bay and Lansdowne stations during those nine days.
B branch: Shuttles are subbing in all day between Copley to Babcock Street through Dec. 5, but it’s normal trolley service from there to Boston College. The 57 bus is also free between Kenmore and Packard’s Corner.
C branch: You’ll have to take a shuttle this week between Copley and Kenmore Square. But all the above-ground C branch stops are running as usual.
D branch: You’re mostly good — for now. While there are shuttles between Copley and Kenmore, Green Line service is running as normal between Riverside and Kenmore this week and next. That said, D branch from Riverside to Kenmore will be suspended and replaced by shuttles for 10 days later this month (Dec. 11 to Dec. 20).
E branch: The entire southern leg of the E branch (from Copley to Heath Street) is suspended from today through Tuesday. And while there won’t be any special shuttles, the T is making the 39 bus — which basically runs the same route — free to board along the stretch.
Green Line Extension: Trolleys are running as normal during the day this week. But everything north of North Station will shut down each night at 8:45 p.m. for the next two weeks — today through Dec. 10 — so crews can fix those slightly too narrow tracks.
- On the Medford branch, there’ll be free shuttle buses replacing service (including from Lechmere to North Station). There won’t be shuttles to Union Square station, so the T suggests using other bus routes. For reference, this map from September still holds up.
Heads up: It’s worth noting that the all-day downtown Green Line closure will also be extended from North Station to Lechmere next Monday and Tuesday (Dec. 4-5). Shuttle buses will replace service between those stations during those two days.
- OK, one last thing: Haymarket station will remain closed through Dec. 16 as demolition work wraps up on the Government Center Garage. It’s the final planned closure for the redevelopment project, but it does mean no Green Line Service (and no shuttles) between Government Center and North Station. As usual, the T suggests riders take the Orange Line or walk between the stations.
Now, in other local news:
Sound off: Cambridge is holding a public hearing this afternoon on a proposal to phase out the use of gas-powered leaf-blowers in the coming years over environmental and noise concerns. Residents can weigh in over Zoom or email.
- The deets: If approved, the ordinance would prohibit residents from using gas leaf blowers in 2025. Businesses and city agencies would be banned from using them two years later, in 2027.
- Zoom out: At least five other Boston-area suburbs have moved to implement year-round bans on gas-powered leaf blowers, the Boston Herald reports. Many others have seasonal restrictions.
College buddies: UMass Lowell and Bunker Hill Community College are marking a new admissions partnership today. UMass Lowell Chancellor Julie Chen says the agreement will allow Bunker Hill students to transfer coursework from their two-year programs to UMass Lowell, without having to go through “the whole process of applying and figuring out how many of the credits transfer.”
- By the numbers: UMass Lowell says that 10% of its students are already transfers from Bunker Hill.
P.S.— Radio Boston is kicking off the week with an interview with Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. Have a question for the mayor? Send it in through our text group.
