Weekend Red Line Service Resumes This Weekend
For the first time since October, weekend riders will be able to use the Red Line in Somerville.
After four months of weekend closures, Red Line service between Harvard and Alewife stations will resume this Saturday.
The Red Line has been shut down on weekends since Nov. 5, 2011, so the MBTA could conduct repairs to the tunnel. The transit authority fixed water leaks, replaced 6000 feet of track and 2300 feet of the third rail, and it also installed new concrete slabs that support the track.
During the past four months, riders took a replacement bus service between Alewife and Harvard. Modest crowds often gathered at the Davis Square T stop to wait for the bus.
According to an email from Joe Pesaturo, a spokesperson for the MBTA, the project was completed on schedule and on budget. He said this year's mild winter helped work crews accomplish everything according to plan.
"The MBTA greatly appreciated its customers' patience and understanding throughout the project," he wrote.
The $4.3 million project was funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Expect more repair work
Although service resumes this weekend, the T has plans to spend another $35 million on capital improvements along this part of the Red Line into 2016, including a project to replace the entire third rail. This means there could be some more weekend closures over the next four years, and the MBTA will also conduct night work.
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