Emergency Repairs Needed At New Medford/Tufts Station: MBTA

MEDFORD, MA — Shuttle buses will replace train service on the Green Line’s Medford Branch on Sunday to make way for emergency repair work on water lines servicing the Medford/Tufts station, the MBTA announced Monday.

Upcoming work will see crews add additional insulation to the water lines, the T said, just under a month after the station opened as part of the larger Medford Branch Green Line Extension.

T spokesperson Lisa Battiston told Patch on Wednesday that crews will replace heat tape and improve insulation with the goal of preventing lines from freezing in the future.

Though they’re in need of more insulation, Battiston said, the water lines have not frozen to date.

The Green Line Extension cost $2.3 billion. Its initial spur route to Union Square in Somerville opened in March of last year before the full Medford Branch opening in December.

READ: Green Line Comes To Medford As Long-Awaited Extension Begins Service

The T on Monday said riders impacted by this weekend’s Medford Branch disruption can also use the 80 and 87 bus routes for service in addition to planned shuttles.

Planned Medford Branch work will coincide with a series of other disruptions on the T’s subway lines this month.

Green and Orange Line trains will bypass Haymarket station in downtown Boston over this coming weekend and again on Jan. 21 and 22.

Orange Line service will then be suspended between Back Bay and North Station on Jan. 14 and 15. Shuttle buses will simultaneously replace Green Line trains between North Station and Government Center.

These disruptions are, in part, due to planned demolition work at the Government Center Garage in Boston.

Elsewhere, shuttle buses will also run on the Red Line this weekend between Broadway and Ashmont and North Quincy stations to accommodate planned work on a pedestrian bridge at the JFK/UMass station.