History

Mass Transit in : A Brief History of the Fixed Guideway Systems

traced to 1630 when the Court of Assistants issued what was probably the Ever since the settlement of first "request for proposals" for public trans­ portation services in North America. Thomas Boston, mass transit has played Williams was granted a charter and began op­ a significant role in the eration of a ferry from Chelsea to Charlestown development of the area and in (service was extended to Boston a year later). This 3-mile ferry service operated for almost its viability as an economic and 200 years and tackled many of the same issues cultural center. the MBTA faces today: government subsidies, changing ridership and, later, competition with highways across the harbor. This old ferry serv­ CLAY SCHOFIELD ice returns periodically and today includes service from Charlestown to Boston. ver one million passengers are carried When the ferry service was introduced in every weekday on Boston's mass 1631, Boston was quite different physically 0 transit system. Governed by the Mas­ than it is today. The city was a small peninsula sachusetts Bay Transportation Authority connected to the mainland by a narrow strip of (MBTA), the nation's sixth-largest and oldest land located in what is now the South End. transit system includes bus, trackless trolley, Since there were no bridges and only limited ferry, and heavy rail transit, as well as access to the mainland, transporting freight by commuter rail. In addition to its historical sig­ ox cart from Winnismet (now Chelsea) to Bos­ nificance as a provider of transportation, the ton was a two-day journey through Malden, MBTA has had a major influence on the devel­ Cambridge, Brighton and Roxbury. Beginning opment of both transportation and the devel­ shortly after gaining independence from Eng­ opment of communities around Boston and land, Boston's demand for transportation mir­ Eastern Massachusetts. rored the city's growth, both in population and in geography as many of new areas around the Mass Transit for the Colony original landscape were created by filling in Mass transit history in the Boston area can be Boston Harbor and the Charles River.

CIVIL ENGINEERING PRACTICE FALL/WINTER 1998 31 As Boston grew, the city's street pattern also Boston Bridge. The street railway service was developed in what appears to be a disorderly extremely successful and the population in the fashion. The most common explanation for this "streetcar suburbs" around Boston grew from "disorder" is that the roads were based on cow fewer than 75,000 in 1850 to more than 440,000 paths and Indian trails. However, that asser­ in 1900. However, service providers jumped tion does not have much veracity; the roadway into the market in a very unorganized way, system developed to fit, or accommodate, the which led to the duplication of service as well geography of the area. , for exam­ as fierce competition for customers. This chaos ple, exists where the south bank of the river resulted in the West End Consolidation Act of once was. (In fact, the portion of Charles Street 1887 that combined all of the competing serv­ along the is where British ices into one operation with the creation of the troops embarked for Lexington and Concord to West End Street Railway. This consolidation of begin the War for Independence.) services under one operator was to play an im­ portant role in the development of Boston's The Transit Revolution transit system. The end of the War for Independence saw a Boston that had grown to a size where people Electrification of Boston's Railway could no longer easily walk from one area to The West End Street Railway was successful in another. Communities around Boston (sub­ solving some transportation problems, but it urbs) began developing. Thes~ new communi­ was burdened by attempting to maintain a bal­ ties created more transportation demands for ance between its motive power (horses) and the links to Boston, which was the hub of com­ associated emissions (while the emissions are merce for the area. In 1793, the first stagecoach different today, it is still a dilemma that mod­ began operating between Boston and Cam­ ern transportation engineering faces). The bridge over the West Boston Bridge (renamed problem was the care and feeding of the thou­ the in 1906-it now carries sands of horses required for service. Other cit­ the Red Line subway across the Charles ies were encountering similar problems and River). Stagecoach service quickly expanded were turningto innovative technologies. One to link communities to Boston. · popular source of motive power was the pul­ In 1835, there were over 80 scheduled stage­ ley system that drives San Francisco's cable coach routes to Boston, with most trips taking cars. Although this system was adopted by usually a day or less. Many of these original several large cities in the late 1800s, it did not routes exist today, now served by the exten­ appear to be the answer in Boston. High costs sive intercity bus services that operate out of to build and maintain the cable systems and . questions about reliability during the harsh In the 1820s a more urban forin of transpor­ New England winters did not foster their use tation evolved in Boston called the omnibus. A in Boston. horse-drawn version of the street car, the omni­ Meanwhile, Richmond, Virginia, had bus was longer than a stagecoach. Seating was. adopted another form of motive power: elec­ arranged along the sides in a fashion similar to tricity. Representatives of the West End Street what is used in transit vehicles today. Around Railway Company were so impressed with the the same time, was experiment­ Richmond system that the decision to electrify ing with a similar type of transit vehicle that all of the Boston routes was made during their ran on wooden rails. Running on rails made for visit to Richmond. Conversion began in earnest a smoother ride and allowed horses to pull upon their return and the first electric service heavier loads. Due to reluctance by the general started on January 1, 1889, with the existing public, Boston did not invest in that technology Green Line transit service on in until just before the Civil War. Boston's first Brookline being the first application. Other ma­ "street railway" began service on March 26, jor cities soon followed suit and converted to 1856, between Central Square in Cambridge electrification, based on the success seen in and in Boston over the West Boston.

32 CIVIL ENGINEERING PRACTICE FALL/WINTER 1998 Boston's electric streetcar system was off in 1885 with the beginning of the consolidation and running. Bankers and developers saw an of the eight different railroads. Competition in opportunity to develop suburbs and provide the saturated market around Boston made the new housing a short trolley ride from Boston. consolidation necessary. The current north and This growing interurban system was consoli­ south terminal stations in Boston are a result of dated into the Bay State Railway Company, this consolidation effort. which at its peak (around 1911) provided serv­ Commuter rail ridership reached a tempo­ ice as far north as Nashua, New Hampshire, rary peak in 1893 with 174,000 trips a day (com­ and as far south as Newport, . pared to the current MBTA commuter rail rid­ ership of 100,000 trips a day). Ridership began Passenger Rail Service to fall for the next eight years due to competi­ . Boston is a city of transportation firsts - one of tion with the electric trolley system and a reces­ the claims is that Boston was the site of North sion. However, as the suburbs continued to America's first railroad. As described earlier, grow and spread, ridership began to grow much of the geography that is now Boston was again and average trip lengths increased to created by filling in Boston Harbor and the reach the emerging suburbs. In 1920, 240,000 Charles River. The Back Bay area of Boston was trips a day were made to and from Boston. That filled in by lowering . Excavated ridership number has never been exceeded. materials were transported by a wooden ­ Auto ownership in the 1920s was on the rise way down what is now Pickney Street around and became the biggest competition for rider­ 1799. ship on public transportation (as it is today). The first scheduled commuter rail service Massachusetts auto ownership went from for Boston was developed 35 years later be­ 233,000 cars in 1920 to 549,000 in 1925. Rider­ tween Boston and Newton by the Boston and ship on commuter rail dropped by 30 percent Worcester Railroad. Planning for intercity rail­ during the period. roads by the Massachusetts Legislature began The Great Depression had a severe effect on in 1827 when a proposal for a canal between the railroads, which caused many of them to Boston and Albany was considered to be too declare bankruptcy. In July 1938, 88 stations expensive. However, the legislature was still and 65 trains were discontinued in Southeast­ unwilling to fund railroad construction and ern Massachusetts. However, World War II, therefore granted the first railroad charters to and the associated gas rationing, dramatically private companies for service to Providence, increased ridership and wartime profits on Albany, Brattleboro and Lowell in 1830. freight brought some railroads out of bank­ In that era, prior to the development of the ruptcy. After the war, ridership fell again and, electric street car, the commuter rail system as the highway system developed, the com­ was primarily responsible for the development muter rail market virtually disappeared. of the suburbs around Boston. Passenger serv­ In 1959, commuter rail ridership to Boston ice developed the area approximately 15 miles was at an all-time low. That year the Mass from Boston and a trip cost about as much as an Transportation Commission (MTC) of the omnibus trip within Boston. By 1854, ridership Commonwealth of Massachusetts was formed. had reached 30,000 trips a day on the eight lines The MTC recom.mended that a system of subsi­ to Boston. By 1870, Massachusetts had more dies be provided by an expanded Metropolitan miles of railroad per square mile than any other Transit Authority (MTA). (Founded in August sti3-te or foreign country. 1947, the MTA later became the MBTA on To regulate the rapidly growing freight and August 3, 1964.) The MBTAcontinued to subsi­ passenger rail industry, the Massachusetts dize some services and eventually began to Railroad Commission was established in 1869 purchase railroads. The first purchase was 145 with broad powers to order service changes. miles of Penn Central in 1973 and then 250 The commission was responsible for many of miles of Boston and (B&M) track (in­ the changes that made the commuter system cluding rolling stock) and the Boston Engine successful, The most significant change came terminal in 1976.

CIVIL ENGINEERING PRACTICI; FALL/WINTER 1998 33 FIGURE 1. Streetcars on (Boston's most congested) in April 1895, looking to­ ward from the intersection of Tremont and Park streets. It was said at the time that it was quicker to walk on the roofs of stalled streetcars than to ride inside.

MBTA's commuter rail service operations companies, and operating entities. The Rapid began to expand, with B&M running the sys­ Transit Commission, appointed by the Gover­ tem as a sole operator under contract to the norand theMayorofBostononJune 18, 1891 (a MBTA in 1977. This expansion of service, along · precursor to the MBTA), was entrusted with with the purchase of new equipment that year, the task of solving Boston's traffic congestion started the modernization of the MBTA com­ problem. The Commission muter rail system. The service is now operated formed two entities that were created to ex­ through a contract with . plore transit underground and transit above ground solutions: Planning for the Twentieth Century In the late nineteenth century, Boston was still • The Boston Company growing and downtown congestion was se­ (BERY) was created on July 2, 1894, to ad­ vere (see Figure 1). The congestion - consist­ dress the alternatives recommended by ing of pedestrians and street cars - begged for the Rapid Transit Commission for ele­ solution. Two alternatives became apparent: vated railway lines. (The BERY eventually going under the streets or going over them. became the MTA on August 29, 1947.) The The Rapid Transit Commission. The history of BERY was authorized by the Massachu­ the MBTA includes numerous commissions, setts Legislature to be privately owned

34 CIVIL ENGINEERING PRACTICE FALL/WINTER 1998 0 5 10 15 10 I II I ,I II II I I I I I I II II I Shortblll~ SCALI or FEET lll\derRiver Berlin.

Sub~Tr•montSt. Boatol'\4track Subw~Tremont St.Mall. Boylston St. Mall.

~ '------~ i FIGURE 2. The compared to other contemporaneous projects.

and to concentrate on the development of through the city in subways. Gourlay's plan in­ a system of elevated suburban railway cluded subways and a subterranean hub called lines. the Centre Platform below the recently com­ • The Boston Transit Commission was to be pleted Bulfinch State House (foreshadowing a governmental agency responsible for the existing Park Street Station, which would the development of subway lines. be built near the same location more than 50 years later). America's oldest subway was fi­ The Company. The de­ nally realized conceptually on April 6, 1892, velopment of the elevated lines in Boston be­ with the recommendation by the new Rapid gan with the construction of an elevated rail­ Transit Commission that a trolley subway be way from to Dudley Street. built under Tremont Street and the Boston That line opened on June 10, 1901, and con­ Common. Construction began on March 28, nected to the Tremont Street subway between 1895, and the first segment was completed on and Boylston Street. The ele­ September 1, 1897 (see Figures 2 to 5). This s~g­ vated line was extended further from Dudley ment ran between the Boylston Street and to Forest Hills in 1909 and eventually Street stations (the American Society of Civil became the Orange Line (which was revamped Engineers designated it as a National Historic by the Southwest Corridor Project 70 years Civil Engineering Landmark in 1978). Both sta­ later). The BERY was responsible for develop­ tions are still operating and the original granite ment of the existing , the At­ head houses stand generally as they did 100 lantic Avenue Loop and several other elevated years ago. The second phase between Pleasant structures and stations that have disappeared Street and Park Street was opened a month or will soon disappear (due to the current Cen­ later and the extension under Beacon Hill from tral Artery /Tunnel highway project in Boston). Park Street to Haymarket, , The Boston Transit Commission. In 1844, Rob­ , and North Station was opened ert Gourlay proposed a grand plan for the Back on September 3, 1898. Bay area of Boston that included a network of The Boston Transit Commission continued suburban railway lines that would travel to develop the subway system and built the

CIVIL ENGINEERING PRACTICE FALL/WINTER 1998 35 ll .'!!\: \ \ L__. r,uMONT j L Sr. ' ······-·­ . ···-· ...._...;....-. .. --·~ ...• _. ;}~:i?:~~· :-.::~.--•·

fg·

f"UMP W£LL..,~• CHA.MM.f'I. I El.loT •Tltll'T la [ -0 ~ ~ i ~------~------~ FIGURE 3. Miscellaneous construction and station details for the Tremont Street subway.

FIGURE 4. Construction along the Tremont Street side of Boston Common on June 2, 1896.

36 CIVIL ENGINEERING PRACTICE FALL/WINTER 1998 :FIGURE 5. Traffic on Tremont Street, August 1899, looking toward Boylston Street along Bos­ ton Common from the intersection of Tremont and Park streets. The streetcar tracks on the for­ merly gridlocked Tremont Street had been removed, leaving a wide-open boulevard for pedes­ trians and horse carts.

United States's first sub-aqueous transit tunnel "[I]nvestigate and report as to the advis­ under Boston Harbor. This tunnel opened on ability of any public works in the metropoli­ December 30, 1904, and ran from Court Street tan district which in its opinion will tend to in Boston to in East Boston (it the convenience of the people, the develop­ is still in operation as part of the existing Blue ment of local business, the beautifying of the Line subway).· Tunnel construction continued district, or the improvement of the same as a and a large portion of the current subway sys­ place of residence. It shall consider the es­ tem was constructed in the period from 1898 to tablishment of a systematic method of inter­ 1925. nal communication by highways, the con­ Commission on Metropolitan Improvements. trol or direction of traffic and transportation, The transit system was growing and the rail­ and the location of such docks and terminals road system had become a major mode of as the interests of the district may demand." transportation for the general public as well as for the transportation of freight. The Commis­ The enabling legislation called for the commis­ sion on Metropolitan Improvements was ap­ sion to be voluntary but authorized $25,000 for pointed by the Governor of Massachusetts and expenses to be born by the Metropolitan Parks the Mayor of Boston in 1907 to: District.

CIVIL ENGINEERING PRACTICE FALL/WINTER 1998 37 The 1909 report Public Improvements for the large shed to dissipate smoke. (The Metropolitan District was a comprehensive and MBTA expects to reach terminal capac­ visionary work that defined a wide range of ity at both North and South stations in transportation and highway projects. The re­ the near future and is seeking solutions port included the suggestion of public/ private through operational and schedule im­ partnerships and recommended that tax ex­ provements.) empt bonds be made available and be guaran­ teed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The 1945 Coolidge Commision Report. The Transportation projects envisioned· by the re­ Coolidge Commission was developed in 1943 port included: to study rapid transit in the Boston metropoli­ tan area (see Figure 6). This report addressed • A Comprehensive Terminal Inprovement the urban sprawl that Boston was experiencing Plan for freight and passenger facilities. In beyond what was served by the existing rapid recommending that a series of civic cen­ transit facilities. The report described the Bos­ ters be built at the terminals, the report ton metropolitan area as "the twenty-nine cit­ may have been instrumental in the con­ ies and towns which are contained within the struction of North Station, along with the arc of the twelve mile radius of the center of the sports facility (which be­ city." Currently, the Boston metropolitan re­ gan much later, in 1927). The develop­ gion has grown to 101 cities and towns, with ment of North Station and the Boston Gar­ the MBTA district serving 78 cities and towns d en occurred through a series of with ba~ic transit services and serving more agreements and concessions between the with commuter rail. The report recommended city, the Boston and Maine Railroad, and long extensions of the rapid transit system the Boston Madison Square Garden Cor­ along the existing railroad rights of way. These poration. extensions included the following transit • The development of a tunnel between lines: East Boston and Boston. This tunnel was proposed to serve the Boston, Revere • Braintree to Arlington Heights. This project Beach and Lynn railroads and, ultimately, consisted of the Braintree branch of the ex­ was built as the Callahan/Sumner high­ isting Red Line with an extension from way tunnel. Alewife to Arlington Heights. • The development of a connection between • Dedham to Reading. This project consisted North and South stations. The report called of the current Orange Line extended from for a four-track tunnel that would allow 45 Forest Hills to Dedham to the south and second head ways, would accommodate from Sullivan Square to Reading to the 320 trains per hour and would serve north (this portion of the extension exists 184,000 passengers an hour. Presently, the as far as Oak Grove in Malden). MBTA and Amtrak have developed a ma­ • Needham and Riverside to Park Street Loop. jor investment study that includes a four­ This segment exists as the Riverside track connection between North and South Green Line branch. The Needham branch stations,·but the current study falls short of was to join the Riverside Line at Newton the capacity expected in 1909. This connec­ Highlands. The Needham commuter rail tion was also envisioned in the median of serves all but one of the stops contem­ the /Tunnel Project as it was plated by the proposed service. proposed in 1974. • Riverside to Woburn via the Tremont Street • Increasing the size of North and South Subway. This segment would have been stations to accommodate the growth an­ an extension of the existing Riverside ticipated in passenger traffic. The plan Green Line branch north of North Station included double-decking South Station, along the Lowell Commuter Rail (which since trains would soon all be electric currently serves the proposed market be­ and that would eliminate the need for a tween Woburn and North Station).

38 CIVIL ENGINEERING PRACTICE FALL/WINTER 1998 THE COMMONWEAL TH OF MASSACHUSETTS METROPOLlrAN TRANSIT RECESS COMMISSION PROPOSED ALTERATIONS TO TREMONT ST. SUBWAY PARIA- BOYLSTON STATIONS

FIGURE 6. A proposed change from the Coolidge report to the Tremont Street subway.

• Lynn to Bowdoin Square. This segment is an process that incorporated the concerns of met­ extension of the existing Blue Line north ropolitan area communities and a process for from Revere to Lynn. It is interesting to considering intermodal alternatives other than note thatthe current TEA-21 federal trans­ highways. The BTPR principles were incorpo­ portation bill has earmarked $50 million rated into the formation of the Intermodal Sur­ for an extension of the Blue Line to Lynn face Transportation Enhancement Act (ISTEA) and beyond to Beverly. and the current TEA-21 transportation legisla­ tion. The Boston Transportation Planning Review The BTPR plan included the concept of the (BTPR). The BTPR was established by Gover­ current Central Artery /Tunnel Project, with its nor Francis Sargent in 1970 to advise him on a third harbor crossing. The study stopped the number of major transportation issues within extension of Route 2 into Boston at Alewife and Route 128, the beltway around the Boston re­ proposed the extension of the Red Line subway gion. to meet Route 2. It also stopped the innerbelt Highway planning in the 1940s and 1950s highway and proposed the Urban Ring Project included expressways into Boston such as 1-95, (currently the subject of a major investment Route 2 and the Innerbelt. The feeling in Bos­ · study that is considering using the right-of- ton, as in many other cities in the 1970s, was way obtained for the highway for portions of anti-highway and the BTPR was to find a solu­ the alignment). The 1973 final report even in­ tion to the transportation problems evolving in cluded a provision that "right-of-way will also Boston that included a more moderate high­ be reserved for high speed ground transporta­ way component. The BTPR created a public tion between Boston and New York City," a vi-

CIVIL ENGINEERING PRACTICE FALL/WINTER 1998 39 sion that will be realized in 1999 with the elec­ discontinued in 1959 when the Southeast Ex­ trification of the Amtrak line from New Haven, pressway (Route 3) was completed and rider­ Connecticut, to Boston. ship declined. The most significant recommendation that Worcester Commuter Rail. The extension of became reality was the replacement of the commuter rail service to Worcester from Fram­ highway extensions into Boston with transit ingham was opened in 1996. The existing route solutions. That shift announced the first flexing is mostly single track shared with . The of highway funding to mass transit, and the construction of a second track is underway and birth of one of the key elements in the ISTEA four additional stations are currently being de~ legislation - "flexible" funding that could be signed. used at the discretion of the local metropolitan Boston Engine Terminal. The newest Boston planning organizations. Engine Terminal (BET) was opened in 1997 to replace the "new" BET built in 1930 that re­ Expansion in the Modern Era placed the "old" terminal dating frbm the nine­ Boston's mass transit system continued to de­ teenth century and that was rebuilt in 1918. The velop in the 1950s and 1960s, butthe next major newest BET was built to keep up with the era of subway construction would not begin growing commuter rail fleet and is designed to until 1966 with the construction of the Orange service the MBTA's 600 coaches and 83 locomo­ Line extension from Haymarket north through tives. The newest BET was built on the site of Somerville, Medford and Malden. The Hay­ the "old new" BET in Somerville. market Project was completed in 1977 and was followed by groundbreaking for the Southwest Current Projects Corridor Project on January 16, 1978. The $740 The Piers Transitway. The South million Southwest Corridor Project was the Boston Piers Transitway is under construction first transit project to be funded with highway and the first segments are being built in con­ money. This project consolidated the Orange junction with the Central Artery /Tunnel Pro­ Line mass transit, the commuter rail system ject in at South Station. The tran­ and the existing into sitway will be an underground busway that an intermodal corridor. The Southwest Corri­ will be upgradable to light rail running from dor Project relocated the elevated portion of the the South Station Transportation Center to the Orange Line along Washington Street and con­ new Federal Courthouse and the World Trade solidated the transportation corridor with the Center in South Boston. The buses will travel existing Boston and Albany rail lines and the from South Boston and serve the emerging Sea­ Massachusetts Turnpike. (This project won the port District, including the recently proposed 1988 ASCE award for Outstanding Civil Engi­ Convention Center, via surface routes. Con­ neering Achievement.) The groundbreaking struction is expected to be finished in 2002. for the extension of the Red Line subway from Massport is planning an additional route for Harvard Square to the Cambridge/ Arlington the transitway. This route is called the Airport In­ city boundary at Route 2 (including the Ale­ termodal Transit Connector (AITC) and would wife Garage) was held one week after the initia­ run through the Transitway and serve Logan Air­ tion of the Southw:est Corridor Project. The ex­ port via the new Ted Williams Tunnel (the third tension of the Red Line south from Quincy to Boston Harbor tunnel crossing constructed un­ Braintree also began that year. der the Central Artery /Tunnel Project). . More recently, the Newburyport Extension. The extension of MBTAhas focused on the expansion of the sub­ commuter rail service from Ipswich to New­ urban commuter rail system. The Old Colony buryport will be complete in October 1998. The line was opened in late 1997 and includes the project includes two new stations and restores Middleboro and the Kingston/Plymouth lines. service that existed on the eastern route in the A third line known as the is nineteenth century. currently in design. Historically, the Old Col­ Blue Line Modernization. The majority of the ony service began operations in 1845 but it was Blue Line stations can only accommodate four-

40 CIVIL ENGINEERING PRACTICE FALL/WINTER 1998 car trains. The system is at capacity and the North/South Rail Link. First proposed in the project will expand station capacity for the en­ 1909 report Public Improvements for the Metro­ tire line to handle six-car trains. Completion of politan District, this project would link the two this project is expected in 2004. MBTAcommuter rail systems into one regional North Station "Super Station." The Orange system. It would also allow the extension of Line and the Green Line serve North Station in Amtrak's north of Boston a variety of ways with elevated, subway and and allow the Portland to Boston service ex­ surface lines. This project will combine all three pected in 1999 to continue south. Currently, a modes into one and allow passengers coming major investment study and draft environ­ inbound to access both the Orange and the mental documents are being worked on for this Green lines from one platform. The two lines project. essentially rtin parallel to each other through Urban Ring. The Urban Ring is a circumfer­ the downtown core, and inbound passengers ential transit project around the outskirts of the to the downtown area will be able to take the Boston urban core. The project will provide ac­ first available line with out much difference in cess to areas currently not well served by mass the time to their destinations. transit. The project goal is to cut down on the The project will also eliminate one of the last number of connections transit riders currently elevated structures in Boston over Causeway use to travel cross town. The Urban Ring is in Street and is expected to improve the urban the major investment study stage, which it is streetscape of this portion of the historic Bul­ expected to complete in early 1999. finch Triangle. Construction is expected to be completed in the year 2000. Boston Transit: Some Attractions There are numerous locations withiri the Bos­ Projects on the Horizon ton area that are suitable for observing notable The Silverline. The Southwest Corridor Project transportation projects. Among these sites are: relocated the elevated Orange Line from Washington Street to the current subway loca­ • The Tremont Street Subway. 11 America's tion. The Washington Street corridor still has a Oldest Subway" is on the Green Line sub­ very high demand for service and additional way between Boylston and Park Street capacity options are limited. The new low­ stations. When in the Boylston Street Sta­ floor light rail vehicles require platforms for tion's below ground (or underground) accessability. Right-of-way limitations pre­ platform, note the outside tracks emerg­ clude building platforms in the corridor. The ing from underneath. Those tracks are a Silverline will be a limited-stop low-floor ar­ remnant of an old abandoned trolley line. ticulated bus service that will serve the corri­ Boston has a whole system of unused tun­ dor. Planned features include stations with in­ nels and stations such as these. telligent transportation system (ITS) • The Mattapan High-Speed Line. This service amenities (instead of stops) and a design ap­ is at the end of the Ashmont Red Line proach that integrates the service with the Branch and still uses Presidential Confer­ concurrent urban design and reconstruction ence Cars (PC Cs) from the 1940s. Re­ of the street. This project is expected to be op~ cently, the MBTA has decided to preserve erational by the year 2000. this fleet for economic and historical rea­ Transitway II. The second phase of the South sons rather than scrap them for a more Boston Piers Transitway Project would extend modern vehicle. the Transitway from South Station to the vicin­ • . While heading down the ity of Boylston Street Station. The current plan­ Ashmont Branch of the Red Line to see the ning includes integration of the Silverline serv­ PCCs, travelers will pass through Fields ice that would allow the articulated vehicles to Corner Station. This multilevel intermo­ enter a portal at Boylston Street and proceed dal facility needs some work but it is a through the Transitway to South Boston and very interesting station architecturally. Logan Airport. The nearby Dudley Street Station, an in-

CIVIL ENGINEERING PRACTICE FALL/WINTER 1998 41 teresting bus facility, is also worth North Station Railroad Terminal and the viewing. Fleet Center are also worthy of note. • South Station. This station is 100 years old • Ferry Service. There is no cheaper way to this year. South Station was reconstructed get a Boston Harbor cruise. Try the 1631 in the 1980s and is now an intermodal cen­ service from Rowes Wharf to Charles­ ter for local bus, intercity bus, commuter town for a sense of history. rail, Amtrak, the Red Line and, soon, the Transitway. The station is in the midst of CLAY SCHOFIELD is currently Deputy Director of 1 the Central Artery /Tunnel Project con­ Planning at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation struction and a trip to the top of the bus Authority and a member of the BSCE Transporta" terminal provides great views of the tion Technical Group. He started his 19-year trans­ nearby construction. portation career in San Francisco working for the • North Station. While the demolition of the California Department of Transportation (Cal­ old Boston Garden should be complete, trans). He then worked for various West Coast con­ the Central Artery construction, the Super sulting firms designing and building highways. He Station construction and the Green Lin:e is a graduate in Civil Engineering from the Univer- viaduct may be of some interest. The new sity of Lowell. ·

42 CIVIL ENGINEERING PRACTICE FALL/WINTER 1998