Scheduled to resume service March 26, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority plans to reopen Government Center Station after two years of renovation. It will include updated features such as new elevators, stairs and escalators, as well as reconstruction to trains and platforms, according to MBTA spokesperson Jason Johnson.
Frank DePaola, general manager of the MBTA, said in a statement that Government Center construction workers have worked diligently on the project.
“The crews have worked extraordinarily hard to ensure that the T’s pledge to re-open the station in two years is fulfilled,” DePaola said in the statement. “The MBTA greatly appreciates its customers’ patience during this period of construction. The T looks forward to opening a completely rebuilt station that will be accessible to people of all abilities.”
Johnson wrote in an email that one motivation to renovate Government Center was to ensure that the station is in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, which would allow disabled residents to ride public transportation with ease.
“This project will reconstruct Government Center Station into a fully accessible, safer, modern, and more comfortable facility,” Johnson wrote in an email. “The Government Center Station Reconstruction Project will combine improvements to the Green Line Station, Blue Line Station, and Cambridge Street/Government Center Plaza, which will bring Government Center Station into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Boston Center for Independent Living (BCIL) Agreement.”
Johnson wrote in the email that structural changes in the station have proved difficult for construction workers.
“A further challenge for workers is that much of the headhouse needs to be constructed directly over the subway tracks that will continue to operate directly below the work zone,” Johnson wrote. “Such extensive work requires adequate construction time.”
David Kruh is the author of “Scollay Square,” a history regarding Government Center, formerly known as Scollay Square. Kruh said certain elements of the original subway station have been preserved through past decades.
“In November of 2014, the resident engineer gave me and my wife a tour of both levels of construction and they showed us some of the original tiling of Scollay Square and how they’re preserving them as part of the motif for both subway stations,” Kruh said. “What thrills me … is how they have kept some of the remnants of both the 1898 and 1912 Scollay Square subway stations which were located in that spot.”
Kruh said he was intrigued by the addition of a glass atrium that will sit in the middle of the City Hall Plaza.
“The whole concept of adding this glass atrium to the top of a subway station, to let in all this natural light as opposed to what I think is best described as a bunker that used to sit in the middle of City Hall Plaza, I think it’s genius,” Kruh said. “It’s a beautiful looking station, and I think it’s going to be a great improvement to the city.”
Several residents agreed that Government Center’s construction has been a positive infrastructural establishment for the city.
Shannon Phillips, 32, of Downtown Boston, said she will be excited to see the new station open.
“From what I have heard, the new station is supposed to be really nice,” she said. “It’s been closed for a while so I’ll be happy to see it open again.”
Kyra Matthews, 42, of Allston, said the new station will be a helpful addition to the City of Boston as a whole.
“I think it’s great that it’s going to be open soon,” she said. “It took a really long time and it’s a really important station, so it’ll be great for the entire city.”
