MBTA Plans New Red-Line Routes; May Affect Harvard-Radcliffe Property

A consulting firm to the Massachusetts Bay Transport Authority revealed last night three tentative alternatives for re-routing the Red Line subway, two of which would require digging under Harvard property.

The re-routing is part of a planned Northwest extension of the Red Line to Arlington that is awaiting federal approval.

One of the two routes affecting Harvard requires digging on Mass Ave outside Harvard Yard. The other involves tunneling beneath Radcliffe Yard.

In a presentation before the Cambridge Transportation Forum at Cambridge City Hall last night, Don Durano, of the MBTA's consulting firm Sverdrup & Parcel, said the University had expressed opposition to construction outside of Harvard Yard but that the proposed tunnel under Radcliffe Yard had not been discussed.

The first plan would involve extending the Harvard Square subway tunnel along Mass Ave around the Yard up to Chauncy St. It would require two-and-one-half to three years of above-ground digging, according to Durano.

Durano said that once the subway was running no noise would be heard in the Yard because of "new construction techniques and soundproofing." He estimated the cost of the project at $35- to $45-million.

The second plan would require construction of a new tunnel from Putnam Square under Mt. Auburn St. through Brattle Square, where a new entrance would be placed. The tunnel would then swing up at Hilliard St. through the Radcliffe Yard to Chauncy St.

Durano said that there would be "no digging" in Radcliffe Yard, but that the tunnel would be "bored" 20-40 feet under the surface, in no way endangering the foundations of any buildings. He estimated the cost at $35-45 million.

The final plan involves a tunnel from Putnam Square down Mt. Auburn St., through Brattle Square and Brattle St. under private property and the Cambridge Common. Durano estimated the cost at $75- to $96-million.

Durano said that Sverdrup & Parcel would not make a final recommendation for many months, and that the firm was soliciting opinions from interested groups. The presentation came in the 24th week of a 38-week study of re-routing the Red-Line through Harvard Square.