By Caitlin Walsh, News Staff
After much anticipation, a start date was finally put on the two-year closure of the Government Center T station. On March 22, 2014, Government Center station, which is the 13th busiest station according to the MBTA , will close while undergoing serious renovations as part of a $90 million remodeling project.
Word of the closing has been swirling for quite some time without a definitive date to accompany it. At one point, there was a plan for the closure to take place last fall, but the closing of the Callahan tunnel raised concerns for commuters, and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) postponed closure of the Government Center station until the tunnel was reopened, according to a Boston Globe article from last July.
Some repairs have slowly taken place while the station remains open, but nothing major has occurred as of yet.
According to the MBTA website, which has created an entirely new page detailing the reconstruction plans, the planned end date for construction and tentative reopening will be Spring 2016.
The aim is to not only modernize the station, but also bring it up to standards and in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Boston Center for Independent Living (BCIL) Agreement, which is an agreement made with the T to ensure accessibility to disabled users.
The entire project, called the Government Center Station Improvements Project, will work on the Green Line, Blue Line and Cambridge Street/Government Center Plaza, according to the project’s page. A new “head house” entrance to the Green Line and Blue Line, raised platforms, new escalators, new LED signage, a new fare collection station and a new emergency exit on the Cambridge Street side are just a few of the improvements that the MBTA plans to make in the next two years.
The MBTA has suggested commuters who frequent the station take alternative routes and allow an extra 10 to 15 minutes for commutes.
Its site suggests for riders looking to transfer from the Green to the Blue Line transfer first to the Orange Line at Haymarket then transfer to the Blue Line at State Street.
Those looking to transfer from the Blue to the Green Line, should take the Blue Line to State Street, transfer to the Orange Line then transfer to the Green Line at Haymarket, T officials recommend. They note that trains will pass through the station, but will not stop there.
