Somerville: Regular Green Line Extension Service Resumes Early

SOMERVILLE, MA — The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) announced Wednesday that construction work on the Squires Bridge in Somerville had been completed ahead of schedule and that regular Green Line train services on the Union Square Branch have resumed.

The Squires Bridge Project began in September and had been expected to take 42 days. However, MassDOT was able to modify the schedule and reduce the construction period to 25 days.

According to officials, the MassDOT work was completed on Tuesday, and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) ran a test train through the area prior to Green Line service between Lechmere and Union Square Station being restored.

"We are pleased that the strategic decisions around the approach to this important safety work have been successful," said Jonathan Gulliver, MassDOT highway administrator. "Our team achieved the results we had hoped for and finished on time so that Green Line service could resume as quickly as possible."

Officials said they had been forced to terminate transit service on the Union Square Branch at Lechmere Station while Squires Bridge work was performed within the Green Line right of way.

Bridge work did not impact motor vehicle travel across the bridge, MBTA Commuter Rail service on the Fitchburg Line, or Green Line service to Medford/Tufts, according to officials.

"Regularly scheduled Green Line service began early (Wednesday) morning, following the successful operation of test trains on the Union Station Branch," said Phillip Eng, MBTA general manager & CEO.

Eng continued: "In keeping with our commitment last month to expedite track repair work during the Squires Bridge project, the MBTA has removed all of the Green Line speed restrictions on both the Union Station branch and the Medford/Tufts Station branch. Green Line trains today are traveling at regular line speeds on both branches. I wish to thank our riders for their patience while MassDOT completed the bridge project and we addressed the track defects discovered during an inspection last month."

The Squires Bridge carries Route 28/McGrath Highway over the Union Branch of the Green Line, the Fitchburg Commuter Rail Line, and Somerville Avenue Extension.

The bridge is a critical component of the highway corridor that links Boston, Cambridge, and Somerville with communities to the north. Approximately 40,000 motor vehicles use the bridge every day, officials said.

MBTA officials estimated that an average of 1,550 customers board the Green Line at Union Square each weekday, with fewer riders on the weekend.