Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority officials said this week construction to Boston University area ‘T’ stops should be done by mid-March after an autumn and winter full of ‘inclement weather’ and a push to do most construction during the system’s off hours.
Construction was originally scheduled to be finished by Sept. 2002, but the completion date was pushed back to December, also because of weather issues, MBTA spokeswoman Lydia Rivera told The Daily Free Press in September.
A January full of sub-freezing temperatures slowed progress on the projects, according to Rivera.
‘We have encountered delays, which are not unusual,’ Rivera said. ‘Delays such as inclement weather have caused some of the delay.’
Rivera said MBTA efforts to do most construction during the ‘T’s’ off hours, between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. on weeknights.
‘The thing that has delayed the construction the most is that we try to do the most work during times that will have the least impact on ‘T’ riders and also the hydrogen peroxide supplier, so we have a four-hour window between the last car running and the first car,’ she said.
Construction will convert stations on the B line to meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act passed in 1990, according to Rivera. The MBTA is working to make all stations more accessible to all ‘T’ riders, including the handicapped and disabled, she said.
BU-area ‘T’ stops are among the first Green Line stations to receive the updates because they are key stations needing accessibility requirements, Rivera said. BU East and Central are especially heavy trafficked areas where upgrades in accessibility were necessary.
The construction is being completed by a private contractor with no affiliation with Boston University. BU officials could not be reached for comment on the delays yesterday.
College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Dave Grotsky said while the construction has taken a long time and can be loud, it will help improve the look of BU’s Commonwealth Avenue areas.
‘The ‘T’ stops are going to look a lot better, and I think it will make the campus look nicer as a whole,’ Grotsky said. ‘But the construction has taken so long, and sometimes it can be loud I’ve heard the work from class inside CAS.’
Despite the stops’ better looks, some students said the construction has been an inconvenience. CAS sophomore Christie Garrity said while she has not been personally affected by the construction, she could see the lives of those living on Commonwealth Avenue inconvenienced.
‘I haven’t been affected by the construction at all,’ she said. ‘But if I lived in Warren Towers I might be more affected, since the T stop was moved.’
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