MBTA To Reveal D Branch Station Project Designs

NEWTON, MA — There is an $8 million effort underway to make the D Branch the first fully accessible branch on the Green Line. Thursday, the MBTA is hosting a meeting to share the preliminary design and get input from Newton commuters.

The Green Line Transformation program is hosting its virtual public meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday.

The project aims to improve accessibility the Waban, Eliot, Chestnut Hill and Beaconsfield stations along the D Branch of the Green Line MBTA where riders with mobility challenges have to navigate low platforms and problematic - if inaccessible- track crossings.

Set to be included in the project:

• Raised 225-foot platforms for easier boarding.
• Widened and resurfaced platforms.
• Improved wayfinding and lighting, new benches, and call boxes for information and emergencies.
• Redesigned accessible pathways with at least two accessible exits.
• Accessible parking spaces next to accessible pathways.

The meeting will be held via Zoom. The meeting will be recorded and posted online for those who cannot attend, according to the MBTA.

What about track work?

Meanwhile, the MBTA's $101 million track and signal replacement project to modernize and improve service along the Green Line is about 76 percent finished.

Since March MBTA contractors have been working evenings and weekends to replace track, signals and other infrastructure between Riverside and Reservoir.

The project, which started in 2018, is 76 percent complete, according to the MBTA and is scheduled to finish this fall.

Weeknight shuttles will be running through May 27 and weekend shuttles are set to continue until May 2 between Riverside and Kenmore, and then again May 7-9 and May 28 - 30.