Red Line Closures to Begin Next Week

The MBTA Red Line will be closed for maintenance from Feb. 5 to Feb. 14, as part of a project to reduce slowdowns and increase safety by upgrading track infrastructure.

During the closure, the Red Line will be shut down between Alewife and Harvard before 8:45 p.m. and between Alewife and Park Street after 8:45 p.m. Another Red Line shutdown between Harvard and Broadway will occur the weekend of the 24th and 25th.

The Red Line closure is the latest in a series of MBTA closures to impact Boston-area commuters, as the beleaguered agency attempts to battle through financial woes and depressed ridership to improve its aging infrastructure.

The work scheduled for the following month will primarily be to eliminate slow zones along the Red Line, involving track repairs and fixing old signaling systems, according to the MBTA.

Like previous closures, the agency will provide free shuttle buses and accessible vans as an alternative for riders.

In an interview, Seth M. Kaplan, a member of advocacy organization TransitMatters, said that the closures are “going to be disruptive, for sure,” adding that the Red Line is the most commonly utilized line of the T, and the closures will include the most densely populated stops.

“The MBTA has had decades of disinvestment, underinvestment, that has led it to the state that it’s in today,” Kaplan said.

MBTA CEO and general manager Phillip Eng wrote in a statement that “by restoring our tracks, we are addressing the root causes of the speed restrictions that have accumulated over decades.”

Boston University student Hayden Dickerson said Monday that he was worried about his transportation options once the Red Line is closed.

“I don’t want to Uber for the next week and a half, or week, because it’s too expensive,” Dickerson said. “I’m just going to leave early, which is frustrating because I like my rest and I need it.”

He raised concerns about the shuttle bus alternative, saying that during a previous shutdown, he was on a shuttle bus when the driver became lost and relied on passengers for directions. In an email Tuesday, the MBTA offered to look into the incident and ensure it does not happen again.

But Maria Wikins, a commuter who has been riding the T for 20 years, was more understanding toward the MBTA.

“I don’t think you can blame them,” Wikins said. “I can see the improvement in the T.”

Herbert Yu, who takes the Red Line one stop each morning, accepted the shutdown with an air of quiet resignation, adding that he would simply walk the 25 minute commute instead.

“I’m more in the acceptance phase,” Yu said. “There’s probably nothing that I can really do.”

—Staff writer Aisling A. McLaughlin can be reached on X at @aislingamcl and at aisling.mclaughlin@thecrimson.com.

—Staff writer Madeline E. Proctor can be reached at maddie.proctor@thecrimson.com.