Neighbors abutting the Codman Yard Red Line train yard on Gallivan Boulevard are continuing to push back on the MBTA’s three-year construction project plans for the site, specifically the methods of construction.
While the merits of the transformative project, which looks to improve Red Line operations tremendously for its ridership, have no detractors, officials behind the three-year buildout of the Yard seem to have no answers for the mitigating of upcoming major construction impacts for neighbors on Hillsdale, Richview, and Rangeley streets.
In a meeting last Thursday, MBTA officials presented the 100 percent design plan and announced that they will soon be seeking a contractor. One more public meeting will be held later this year with that contractor before construction begins in the fall, with work slated to last through fall 2025. The main construction entrance will be on residential Hillsdale Street, though the T hopes to use the Gallivan entrance as much as possible later in the project.
“It’s incredible that you would inflict this kind of truck traffic on the residents of a small street like Hillsdale for this long of a period,” said abutter Matt Bell, speaking about the plan for bringing construction materials and trucks down Hillsdale and Richview sreets. “I don’t even know how you’ll get trucks down the street. There are so many cars down there…It just could be physically impossible in that location.”
The T’s Roodly Dorleans said they would try to use Gallivan as much as possible, but Hillsdale is the best location. “We’re trying our best to minimize the construction impacts,” he said. “If we can use Gallivan at the beginning of the project, we will.” Still, he added, the angle of the entrance at Gallivan would prevent much of the construction equipment and materials from getting through there.
“Hillsdale Gate is going to be the most convenient,” he said, noting that they plan to move the gate back 35 feet from its existing position to prevent idling in front of homes.
Neighbor Dan Magoon said the MBTA isn’t doing enough for the neighborhood when it comes to its planning. Even with some “good neighbor” upgrades, such as the use of better lighting that won’t leak into the surrounding homes, Magoon said, that doesn’t solve a lot of issues about lighting, noise, and other such problems that come from trains.
“You guys need to do more for the neighborhood,” he said. “There needs to be talk about closing in the Yard and not with a chain fence…This project needs a wall around the Yard, and you need to reconsider what you’re doing to people on Hillsdale, Richview, and Rangeley. You need to consider more people than just the people riding these trains.”
The Codman Yard serves as one of four yards on the Red Line, with Alewife, Cabot, and Braintree (Caddigan) being the others. The yards allow for storage of the cars, inspections, repairs, and washing and cleaning.
One purpose of the Codman Yard project is to update it for the first time in 40 years, primarily to add 6 storage tracks to the existing 16 tracks, so that new Red Line train cars can be accepted and put into commission. The big reason, though, is that the agency needs to be prepared to receive the new Red Line cars when the switchover happens in the coming years. Some new cars were delivered in 2019, and the MBTA said one full train of new cars has already been deployed, with others being tested, and more to come.
“That’s why we need more storage space capacity to allow for that time,” said the MBTA’s Douglas Woodbury. “There’s not enough space now to work with the old and new train cars. In the long term, I don’t think we’ll need that much capacity there.”
During the transition, the agency will need space for approximately 100 cars where they now have 70. That space would be located on the south end of the Yard nearest Hillsdale and Richview streets. The bypass track running to Ashmont Station will also be replaced, as will the entire existing track works inside the Yard. Those replacements, along with a new lubrication of the tracks, will significantly reduce the “wheel squeak” and noise that has become a part of life for many neighbors, officials said.
The Codman Yard project is one piece of the $8 billion Red Line Transformation (RLT) project that began in 2018. It is intended to allow for faster, more comfortable trips on the Red Line, and expand the number of cars on the Red Line to 252 that will be able to handle 65,000 more riders per day.
