Union Square station (Somerville)

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Not to be confused with Union Square station (Allston).
Union Square
Union Square station construction (4), July 2021.JPG
Union Square station under construction in July 2021
LocationProspect Street south of Union Square
Somerville, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°22′37.72″N 71°5′39.45″W / 42.3771444°N 71.0942917°W / 42.3771444; -71.0942917Coordinates: 42°22′37.72″N 71°5′39.45″W / 42.3771444°N 71.0942917°W / 42.3771444; -71.0942917
Line(s)Union Square Branch
Platforms1 island platform (Green Line)
Tracks2 (Green Line)
2 (Fitchburg Line)
Construction
Bicycle facilities"Pedal and Park" bicycle cage
Disabled accessYes
History
OpeningDecember 2021 (planned)
Services
Preceding station MBTA.svg MBTA Following station
Terminus Green Line Lechmere
toward Riverside

Union Square station is an under-construction light rail station on the MBTA Green Line D branch in the Union Square neighborhood of southeastern Somerville, Massachusetts. Union Square will have one island platform that will serve the D branch's two tracks.

In September 2013, the state secured funding to move forward on the Green Line Extension to build three new stations by 2017, signing a 51-month $393 million contract. Construction began in 2014 for Union Square, as well as Washington Street and the relocated Lechmere. After contract cancellations and delays, the station is expected to open in December 2021.

History[]

Railroad station[]

New (left) and old stations in December 1911

The Charlestown Branch Railroad was extended through Somerville in 1841, opening on January 5, 1842. It was absorbed into the Fitchburg Railroad in 1846.[1] Prospect Street station – which was located off Medford Street (now Webster Street), slightly west of Prospect Street – was opened within several years to serve the Sand Pit Square area.[2][3][4] The nearby square became Union Square in the 1860s, but the station was not renamed Union Square until around 1875.[5]

Prospect Street was placed on a bridge over the railroad by 1852, but Webster Street crossed the railroad at grade.[6] Planning to eliminate the eleven remaining grade crossings in Somerville, five of which were on the Fitchburg Route mainline, began in 1900.[7] In 1906, the city engineer proposed to raise 1.8 miles (2.9 km) of the line between Beacon Street and Somerville Avenue to eliminate the five level crossings, but that scheme was not adopted.[8]

After the Somerville Avenue grade crossing was eliminated in 1908–09, work began in April 1911 to raise Webster Street above the tracks.[9][10] Webster Street and several adjacent buildings were raised about 20 feet (6.1 m), while the tracks were slightly lowered. A special bridge on the east side of the road bridge was built for a 4-foot (1.2 m)-diameter water main that weighed 700 pounds per foot (1,000 kg/m). As part of the project, the 67-year-old station building was replaced by a larger building on the south side of the tracks.[4] Work was completed in December 1911.[11]

Horsecar and later electric streetcar service cut ridership at urban stations; by 1917, Union Square and Somerville stations were served by four to five daily Watertown Branch trains plus several off-peak mainline local trains.[12] As passengers volumes dwindled, the station building was reused for manufacturing by 1924.[13] By 1929, the only service to Union Square and Somerville was one outbound and two inbound Watertown Branch trains.[14] Service to the two stations ended on July 9, 1938, along with the end of passenger service on the Watertown Branch.[15][16][17] The station building was demolished sometime between 1936 and 1940.[18][19]

Adding an MBTA Commuter Rail Fitchburg Line station at Union Square has been considered; by 2003, a stop was expected to open within five years.[20] The 2004 state Program for Mass Transportation estimated such a station would attract 390 daily riders.[15] A Union Square commuter rail station – either in addition to a Green Line station or in lieu of it – was listed as a possibility in 2012 as an interim air quality mitigation measure in response to delays in building the Green Line Extension. However, such a station would have been costly to build and could not have been completed by the 2015 deadline, and was therefore not supported by MassDOT.[21]

Green Line Extension[]

Station construction in November 2020

In August 2012, the City of Somerville, MassDOT, and the MBTA reached a memorandum of agreement about the station. Through the Somerville Redevelopment Authority, the City will acquire $8 million worth of land for the station and grant the MBTA a permanent easement, while retaining the rights for transit-oriented development overhead. In return, the MBTA and MassDOT will pay for cleanup costs at the site, begin construction by the spring of 2014, and open the station no later than "late 2016-early 2017".[22]

In October 2012, the Somerville Board of Aldermen approved the Union Square Redevelopment Plan and authorized an $8 million bond, including $6 million to purchase the land and $2 million for cleanup and station planning.[23] In May 2013, the Board of Aldermen announced that the North Prospect block - a mostly industrial area bordered by the railroad tracks, Prospect Street, Somerville Avenue, and the rear of residential properties on Allen Street - had been acquired by the city via eminent domain for $4.5 million. The properties were to be vacated by August. The city also received a $1 million EPA grant to clean up one of the properties.[24] Site cleanup began in September 2014.[25]

After major cost increases due to contractors increasing costs above estimates became public in 2015, MassDOT cancelled contracts and scaled back sections of the project. A new design released in May 2016 removed direct access from the Prospect Street overpass (which required elevators, escalators, and stairs) and platform canopies.[26] In December 2016, the MBTA announced a new planned opening date of 2021 for the extension.[27] As of November 2019, a private developer will fund an elevator connecting the station to the overpass. The elevator may open later than the station.[28]

The station platform was poured by early August 2020, with the canopy constructed later that month.[29] Public artwork at the station will include Passage by Matthew Trimble – a sculptural archway over the walkway to the platform – as well as murals on station sign panels.[30]

Original plans called for the E Branch to be extended to Union Square.[31][32] However, in April 2021, the MBTA indicated that Union Square would instead be served by the D Branch.[33] By March 2021, the station was expected to open in October 2021.[34] In June 2021, the MBTA indicated an additional delay, under which the station is expected to open in December 2021.[35]

Development[]

The new station is located 600 feet from Union Square itself. Extensive new transit oriented developments are planned surrounding the station, beginning with a 25-story residential tower and mid-rise commercial building, known as D2.3 and D2.2.[36]

References[]

  1. ^ Humphrey, Thomas J.; Clark, Norton D. (1985). Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years. Boston Street Railway Association. pp. 87, 88. ISBN 9780685412947.
  2. ^ H.F. Walling (1854). "Map of the City of Cambridge".
  3. ^ Cutter, William Richard (April 1909). "Memoirs of the New England Historic Genealogical Society". Proceedings of the New England Historic Genealogical Society. New England Historic Genealogical Society. p. LXV – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "Spectacular Engineering Feat Being Performed at Union Sq, Somerville". Boston Globe. June 6, 1911. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Somerville". Boston Globe. November 30, 1875. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Draper, Martin, Jr. (1852). "Map of Somerville, Mass". J.T. Powers & Co.
  7. ^ "To Abolish Grade Crossings". Boston Globe. December 27, 1903. p. 35 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "To Abolish Somerville Grade Crossings". Boston Globe. January 28, 1906. p. 26 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Work on Overhead Bridge". Boston Globe. July 12, 1909. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Somerville". Boston Globe. April 5, 1911. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Great Task Will Be Completed Saturday". Boston Globe. December 6, 1911. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Local Train Service. Boston and Maine Railroad. September 30, 1917. pp. 80–81 – via Wikimedia Commons.
  13. ^ ""To Let" Sign on Railroad Station at Prospect Hill". Boston Globe. July 19, 1924. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Time Tables. Boston and Maine Railroad. September 29, 1929. pp. 45–49 – via Wikimedia Commons.
  15. ^ Jump up to: a b Central Transportation Planning Staff (January 2004). "Chapter 5C: Service Expansion" (PDF). 2004 Program for Mass Transportation. Boston Metropolitan Planning Organization. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 16, 2008. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
  16. ^ Humphrey, Thomas J.; Clark, Norton D. (1986). Boston's Commuter Rail: Second Section. Boston Street Railway Association. ISBN 9780938315025.
  17. ^ "At the State House". Boston Globe. April 12, 1938. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.open access
  18. ^ "Somerville". Boston Globe. March 26, 1936. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Somerville". Boston Globe. January 23, 1940. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ Bluestone Planning Group (April 2003). "Union Square Master Plan" (PDF). City of Somerville. p. 14. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 26, 2014.
  21. ^ Central Transportation Planning Staff (January 23, 2012). "Green Line Extension SIP Mitigation Inventory" (PDF). Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 2, 2014.
  22. ^ Orchard, Chris (3 August 2012). "Agreement Says Union Square Green Line Station Operational by 2017". Somerville Patch. Archived from the original on 19 June 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  23. ^ Orchard, Chris (12 October 2012). "Aldermen Authorize $8 Million Bond for Union Square Green Line Site". Somerville Patch. Archived from the original on 31 January 2013. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  24. ^ Gallant, Leah (7 June 2013). "Somerville board acquires land for Green Line Extension". Wicked Local Somerville. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  25. ^ Maher, Amanda (26 September 2014). "UNION SQUARE GREEN LINE STATION SITE WORK BEGINS" (Press release). City of Somerville. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  26. ^ "Green Line Extension Review Interim Project Management Team: Final Report" (PDF). Massachusetts Department of Transportation. May 9, 2016.
  27. ^ Dungca, Nicole (December 7, 2016). "New Green Line stations are delayed until 2021". Boston Globe. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  28. ^ Levy, Marc (November 20, 2019). "Buses will be back for 11 months at Lechmere as green line extension T project rolls onward". Cambridge Day.
  29. ^ "GLX Community Working Group Monthly Meeting: August 4, 2020". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. August 4, 2020. p. 5.
  30. ^ "GLX Community Working Group Monthly Meeting #39". Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. February 2, 2021.
  31. ^ "MBTA Light Rail Transit System OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE PLAN" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. January 6, 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 7, 2017.
  32. ^ "Travel Forecasts: Systemwide Stats and SUMMIT Results" (PDF). Green Line Extension Project: FY 2012 New Starts Submittal. Massachusetts Department of Transportation. January 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 7, 2017.
  33. ^ DeCosta-Klipa, Nik (April 9, 2021). "The MBTA is planning to open part of the Green Line Extension this October". Boston Globe. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  34. ^ "Report from the General Manager" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. March 29, 2021. p. 20.
  35. ^ Dalton, John (June 21, 2021). "Green Line Extension Update" (PDF). Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. p. 19.
  36. ^ Sommerville Design Review Committee (August 20, 2018). "D2.3 | Residential + Commercial Union Square Revitalization" (PDF). Retrieved July 26, 2021.

External links[]

Media related to Union Square station (Somerville) at Wikimedia Commons

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