Chelsea station (MBTA)

Chelsea is an MBTA Silver Line bus rapid transit station in Chelsea, Massachusetts. It opened on April 21, 2018, as the terminus of the new SL3 route. An adjacent MBTA Commuter Rail stop will open in 2021.

For the current commuter rail station, see Bellingham Square station.

Chelsea
Chelsea station in July 2018
LocationEverett Avenue
Chelsea, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°23′48″N 71°02′26″W
Line(s)Eastern Route
Silver Line busway
Platforms2 side platforms (Silver Line)
2 side platforms (commuter rail - planned)
Tracks2 (commuter rail)
Connections MBTA bus: 112, 114
Other information
Fare zone1A (Commuter Rail)
History
OpenedApril 21, 2018 (Silver Line)
2021 (Commuter Rail - planned)
Services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
Bellingham Square
toward South Station
 Silver Line Terminus
Future services
Preceding station MBTA Following station
North Station
Terminus
 Newburyport/​Rockport Line River Works
toward Newburyport or Rockport

History

B&M station

The Boston and Maine Railroad (B&M) had its East Everett station at 2nd Street, serving residential areas to the southeast.[1] The station was built by property owners and opened in 1880.[2] Streetcars cut heavily into the profitability of local commuter rail service; the B&M closed the station building in 1932, though some trains continued to stop.[3][4] The building was demolished around 1933.[5] By 1946, the station was served by only one weekday-only round trip.[6] By the time the remaining local stops on the line south of Lynn were closed in 1958, East Everett was no longer being served.[7][8] The residential neighborhood around 2nd Street, already planned for urban renewal, was destroyed by the Great Chelsea fire of 1973; it was replaced by industry and the Mystic Mall.[9]

MBTA Silver Line station
The Silver Line station under construction in 2017
A commuter rail train passing the under-construction Silver Line station in 2017

Mystic Mall was a proposed stop on the Urban Ring Project.[10] The Urban Ring was to be a circumferential bus rapid transit (BRT) line designed to connect the current radial MBTA rail lines, to reduce overcrowding in the downtown stations. Under draft plans released in 2008, buses would have left the dedicated busway (constructed next to existing commuter rail tracks) to access new surface-level BRT platforms on Everett Street and Spruce Street.[11] Although the full project was shelved in 2010 due to the MBTA's financial difficulties, some corridor routes are receiving more limited work.[12]

In March 2013, the MBTA began studying an extension of the Silver Line to Chelsea via a newly constructed bypass road in East Boston. Three alternatives were discussed for the Chelsea section. One would run up the abandoned section of the Grand Junction Railroad right-of-way from Eastern Avenue to Chelsea station with stops at Eastern Avenue, Highland/Box District, Chelsea station, and Mystic Mall. The second alignment would follow the Grand Junction to just short of Bellingham Square, then diverge onto surface roads to Bellingham Square. The third alignment would run entirely on surface streets, serving two stops on Central Avenue and four stops along a loop serving the existing Chelsea station and the MGH Chelsea healthcare center.[13] In September 2013, the MBTA indicated that it would pursue the first alternative despite potential issues with bridge clearances and rebuilding Chelsea station.[14]

On October 30, 2013, MassDOT announced $82.5 million in state funding for a modified version of the first alternative to be constructed. A new $20 million Chelsea commuter rail station would be constructed at the Mystic Mall busway terminus to replace the existing station. This new station would make the commuter rail station fully accessible, with longer platforms so that trains would not block grade crossings while stopped. The Silver Line would have a new Bellingham Square stop at the old commuter rail station location. Service was expected to begin in late 2015.[15]

A construction contract was approved in September 2014, and construction began in March 2015.[16][12][17] By June 2017, opening had been pushed back to April 2018.[18] Silver Line service on the SL3 branch began on April 21, 2018.[19]

Commuter rail station

The MBTA opened bidding for the contract to construct the new commuter rail staton (which also includes installation of several nearby traffic signals and demolition of the existing station) in February 2019, with an expected cost of $26.7 million.[20] A $32.4 million contract was awarded in April 2019, with completion expected in late 2021.[21] Construction of the project (which has a total cost of $37.7 million) began in August 2019.[22] The supports for the outbound platform were completed by April 2020, and the platforms were installed that August.[23][24]

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References
  1. "Part of Everett". Atlas of Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Geo. H. Walker & Co. 1889 – via Ward Maps.
  2. "A New Railway Station at East Everett". Boston Daily Globe. December 22, 1880. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Boston & Maine asks right to abandon three stations". Boston Daily Globe. April 21, 1932. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "B. & M. is granted right to abandon four stations". Boston Daily Globe. June 25, 1932. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "How would you like to live in a railroad station". Boston Globe. July 15, 1933. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Northern New England Travel Guide. Boston and Maine Railroad. April 28, 1946. pp. 14–15 – via Wikimedia Commons.
  7. Humphrey, Thomas J.; Clark, Norton D. (1985). Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Boston Street Railway Association. p. 77. ISBN 9780685412947.
  8. "Drastic Service Cuts Approved on Five B.& M. Divisions". Daily Boston Globe. April 19, 1958. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. Concetta Coreth, Lake (April 2011). Chelsea Under Fire (thesis) (Report). Boston College Department of History. p. 52.
  10. "Urban Ring Phase 2 FACT SHEET" (PDF). January 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
  11. "The Urban Ring Phase 2: Revised Draft Environmental Impact Report/Statement" (PDF). Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation. November 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 14, 2017.
  12. "Silver Line Gateway" (PDF). Massachusetts Department of Transportation. June 5, 2017. p. 3.
  13. "Silver Line Gateway Alternatives Analysis" (PDF). Massachusetts Department of Transportation. June 19, 2013. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  14. Hamwey, Scott (September 18, 2013). "Silver Line Gateway Alternatives Analysis: Public Meeting – September 18, 2013" (PDF). Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  15. "Governor Patrick Announces MBTA Silver Line Expansion". Commonwealth Conversations: Transportation (Press release). Massachusetts Department of Transportation. October 30, 2013.
  16. "MBTA Silver Line to Chelsea Approved" (Press release). Massachusetts Department of Transportation. September 17, 2014.
  17. "Silver Line Gateway Project Overview". Massachusetts Department of Transportation. March 2018. Archived from the original on March 15, 2018.
  18. Vaccaro, Adam (June 6, 2017). "Silver Line service to Chelsea to begin next spring". Boston Globe. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  19. "Silver Line 3 Update" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. March 12, 2018.
  20. "Notice to Bidders" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. February 8, 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 13, 2019. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  21. "MBTA Board Awards Contract for New Commuter Rail Station in Chelsea" (Press release). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. April 29, 2019.
  22. "Baker-Polito Administration Celebrates Beginning of Chelsea Commuter Rail Construction" (Press release). Massachusetts Department of Transportation. September 16, 2019.
  23. "Platform Work Continues at Chelsea Commuter Rail Station" (Press release). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. May 4, 2020.
  24. "Train Platform Work Progressing at Chelsea Commuter Rail Station" (Press release). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. August 13, 2020.
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