MBTA Red Line Closes for 16 Days for Maintenance, Spelling Delays for Harvard Square Riders

Updated July 17, 2024, at 11:21 a.m.

Shuttle buses replaced Red Line service between Alewife and JFK/UMass stops Saturday, kicking off 16 days of Red Line closures as the MBTA makes planned improvements for the stretch between Kendall and Alewife Stations.

According to the MBTA, the work is targeted at eliminating the “slow zones” that have frustrated riders since they were introduced last year to minimize risk to vulnerable stretches of track.

Trains will not run between Alewife and Kendall until at least July 28, with the closure extending to Park Street beginning at 8:30 p.m. on weekdays and all day on weekends.

Some commuters and advocates reported frustration with the confusion and delays produced by the project and took aim at the state of MBTA infrastructure at-large.

“I work here at Harvard Square, so my commute is significantly impacted, on the order of double,” Brian M. Mahoney, an administrator at the Graduate School of Education, said.

“It’s hard to know who to blame at this point, but the deferred maintenance is insane,” he added.

Kayla M. Wilson, a research fellow at Boston Children’s Hospital, criticized what she saw as a lack of advanced notice of the shutdown.

“It’s really frustrating,” she said. “It seems like it comes out of nowhere, and it’s not reliable at all.”

Maya Bingaman, a spokesperson for the MBTA, wrote in a statement that the MBTA is “confident that these diversions will lead to long-term improvements in service,” and that “the MBTA has eliminated a total of 46 speed restrictions on the Red Line as part of the Track Improvement Plan.”

“We’re committed to earning back your trust through both improved service and better communication,” she added.

Closures on the Red Line come on the heels of persistent safety concerns: last week, a section of the Red Line underwent repairs after a maintenance vehicle derailed at Park Street while transporting equipment for the improvement project.

The Red Line also experienced several shut downs in the last year for track repairs and maintenance — even as commuters reported persistent frustration with slow speeds and delays.

Jarred Johnson, executive director of Boston-based advocacy group TransitMatters, wrote in an emailed statement that the diversions were “a painful reminder of the importance of regular maintenance and reliable operations funding.”

“We continue to push the T for better communication and to improve the shuttle operations,” he added.

But Johnson also praised the MBTA’s timing of the shutdowns.

“Front-loading diversions to the summer will avoid more traffic and crowding than in the fall,” he added.

Some transit activists also voiced optimism that, despite the inconvenience of ongoing closures, the construction would ultimately help the embattled transit authority.

“This is the necessary step that the T needs to take to address the decades of deferred maintenance that has resulted in the system which we have,” Peter Wilson, senior policy director for transit advocacy group Transit for Massachusetts, said in an interview.

“This is something that’s probably necessary,” he added.

— Kailey J. Calvo and Nadia F. Knoblauch contributed reporting.

—Staff writer Matan H. Josephy can be reached at matan.josephy@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @matanjosephy.