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62-628: When the northern section of the Tremont Street subway opened in 1898, surface cars entering the subway from East Cambridge had to cross Craigie's Bridge and proceed on surface streets to the Canal Street incline . The trip from Lechmere Point over the bridge was slow and prone to delays. On June 20, 1907, construction began on one mile of elevated track connecting the Canal Street incline to East Cambridge. The project's centerpiece

124-534: A National Historic Landmark in recognition for its pioneering role in the development of the subway as a public transit system in the United States. The landmark designation encompasses the still-extant portions of the early tunnel, roughly from Court Street to Charles Street, and includes the original Classical Revival head houses of the Park and Boylston stations which are still in use. The original owner of

186-907: A wholesale re-evaluation of the GLX project . In December 2015, the MBTA ended its contracts with four firms. Construction work in progress continued, but no new contracts were awarded. At that time, cancellation of the project was considered possible, as were elimination of the Union Square Branch and other cost reduction measures. In May 2016, the MassDOT and MBTA boards approved a modified project that had undergone value engineering to reduce its cost. Stations were simplified to resemble D branch surface stations rather than full rapid transit stations, with canopies, faregates, escalators, and some elevators removed. The new design for Union Square removed

248-702: A new parallel subway. On August 20, 1955, the MTA opened Science Park station as an infill station on the steel approach span of the viaduct over Leverett Circle , just south of the southernmost arch span. It serves the Boston Museum of Science and the West End. On June 25, 2004, service over the viaduct was suspended as the Causeway Street Elevated was removed, and the surface and elevated platforms at North Station were consolidated into

310-523: A new underground "superstation". This left the Lechmere Viaduct and Lechmere Elevated as the sole remaining elevated lines in Boston. A new portal was built off Martha Road, with a new concrete bridge connecting to the viaduct just south of Science Park station. Service to Lechmere resumed on November 12, 2005. The incline from the 2005-built tunnel to the Lechmere Viaduct is the steepest grade on

372-499: A possibility of future re-use (see above). The subway uses trolleys powered by electricity from overhead lines , which had been made possible by the invention of the trolley pole in 1880 by Frank J. Sprague , from his design for the Richmond Union Passenger Railway . The line has been pantograph -only since the trolley wires were modified in the 1990s. The Tremont Street subway was designated

434-521: 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. Rapid transit extension northwest from Lechmere was first proposed in 1922. Various 20th-century proposals called for rapid transit along the B&;M Southern Division (now the Lowell Line ) to West Medford or beyond; the nearest station to Union Square

496-480: A stop was expected to open within five years. The 2004 state Program for Mass Transportation estimated such a station would attract 390 daily riders. 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

558-568: A transfer point between the Cambridge streetcars and the subway cars. This prevented traffic delays affecting the surface cars from propagating into the subway, and allowed the underground service to use three-car trains, which were too long for safe street-running . In 1935, a citizen's group proposed to widen the viaduct into a four-lane expressway to accommodate an extension of the Mohawk Trail ; transit service would have been rerouted into

620-627: A utility building between the tracks so as to not preclude future extension. The coming of the station provided an opportunity for the city to redevelop Union Square and surrounding areas. A 2009 rezoning designated commercial corridors and transit-oriented development sites; a 2012 revitalization plan led to the selection of a master developer for the area. As with the GLX as a whole , the Union Square redevelopment has been criticized by local advocates for its potential to cause gentrification and community displacement . A 2014 study found that

682-465: A wider section of the walkway at its west end. Tail tracks are located on each side of the walkway. The tail tracks are designed not to preclude further extension to Porter station in the future. Bike racks with space for 34 bikes are located in the entrance plaza. Public artwork at the station includes Passage by Matthew Trimble – a sculptural archway over the walkway to the platform – as well as murals on station sign panels. The main entrance to

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744-471: Is also provisioned for future extension to 300-foot (91 m) length. A starter booth is located at the east end of the platform, with an at-grade emergency exit walkway leading to Allen Street. The station entrance plaza is located on the east side of the Prospect Street bridge, next to a small utility building. A walkway connects the plaza and platform, with fare vending machines located in

806-518: Is now served by the Green Line D branch . A major development project is under construction near the station. Union Square station is located on the east side of the Prospect Street bridge, about 900 feet (270 m) south of the Union Square intersection. The Fitchburg Line runs roughly northwest–southeast through the station area, with the two-track Union Square Branch of the Green Line on

868-673: Is splits into two forks. One fork connects to the Boylston Street subway , which turns westward under Boylston Street. The other fork continues south under Tremont Street to the Pleasant Street incline . This portal was used by streetcars that went southwest to Egleston via the South End, along Tremont Street ( route 43 ), or southeast to City Point in South Boston via Broadway ( route 9 ). Streetcar service through

930-710: The City and South London Railway in 1890, and the Budapest Metro's Line 1 in 1896), opening on September 1, 1897. It was originally built, under the supervision of Howard A. Carson as chief engineer, to get streetcar lines off the traffic-clogged streets, instead of as a true rapid transit line. It now forms the central part of the Green Line , connecting Boylston Street to Park Street and Government Center stations. The tunnel originally served five closely spaced stations: Boylston , Park Street, Scollay Square , Adams Square , and Haymarket , with branches to

992-500: The D branch was opened in 1959. The northern portal at Canal Street was replaced in 2004 when the subway was extended beneath North Station to a new portal next to Martha Road. The southern portal at Pleasant Street was abandoned in 1962 following the end of streetcar service through the South End . The portal has since been sealed up and covered by Elliot Norton Park, but the dead-ended tunnel to Boylston survives underground, for

1054-720: The Public Garden portal and Pleasant Street incline south of Boylston. Park Street, Scollay Square, and Haymarket stations were altered over the next two decades as transfers were added to the Cambridge–Dorchester subway , East Boston Tunnel , and Main Line Elevated (now part of the Red , Blue , and Orange Lines , respectively). Boylston and Park Street were built with rectangular stone headhouses designed by Edmund M. Wheelwright that did not aesthetically match

1116-617: The Union Square neighborhood of southeastern Somerville, Massachusetts . The accessible terminal station has a single island platform serving the two tracks of the Union Square Branch, which parallels the Fitchburg Line . It opened on March 21, 2022, as part of the Green Line Extension (GLX), which added two northern branches to the Green Line. The Fitchburg Railroad opened a station at Prospect Street in

1178-502: The 1840s; it was renamed to Union Square around 1875. The station was closed in 1938 and demolished around that time. Extensions to the Green Line were proposed throughout the 20th century, but a Union Square spur was not considered until the early 21st century. Several station sites and alignments were considered, with the Prospect Street location and the route along the Fitchburg Line chosen in 2009. The MBTA agreed in 2012 to open

1240-522: The Common. Scollay Square and Adams Square had similar baroque headhouses with four-sided clock towers. Unlike the interior decor, the headhouses were sharply criticized as "resembling mausoleums" and "pretentiously monumental". Later stations on the East Boston Tunnel and Washington Street Tunnel incorporated this criticism into their more modest headhouses. In 1963, the northern part of

1302-661: The Fitchburg Route mainline, began in 1900. 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. After the Somerville Avenue grade crossing was eliminated in 1908–09, work began in April 1911 to raise Webster Street above the tracks. Webster Street and several adjacent buildings were raised about 20 feet (6.1 m), while

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1364-650: The Lowell Line right-of-way to directly serve Union Square. An updated agreement, announced in May 2005, added a Union Square branch to the Green Line Extension. The Beyond Lechmere Northwest Corridor Study , a Major Investment Study / alternatives analysis , was published in 2005. The analysis studied a variety of light rail and bus rapid transit extensions, including a branch to Union Square. The Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation and Public Works submitted an Expanded Environmental Notification Form (EENF) to

1426-579: The MBTA announced a new planned opening date of 2021 for the extension. A design-build contract for the GLX was awarded in November 2017. The winning proposal included six additive options – elements removed during value engineering – including full-length canopies at all stations. Station design advanced from 0% in March 2018 to 24% that December and to 100% in October 2019. The 100% design relocated

1488-564: The Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs in October 2006. The EENF identified a Green Line extension with Medford and Union Square branches as the preferred alternative; the Union Square Branch was to follow the Fitchburg Line right-of-way. That December, the Secretary of Environmental Affairs issued a certificate that required analysis of a Somerville Avenue alignment for the Union Square Branch in

1550-613: The Medford Branch and other work. However, the work did not have the intended effect, and a multi-year long slow-zone was put in place that continued to limit speeds to 10 miles per hour (16 km/h). Tremont Street subway The Tremont Street subway in Boston's MBTA subway system is the oldest subway tunnel in North America and the third-oldest still in use worldwide to exclusively use electric traction (after

1612-574: The Medford Branch. The original temporary ramp to Prospect Street was closed on April 20, 2023, for construction of the permanent path. The Union Square Branch was closed from September 18 to October 10, 2023, during repairs to Squires Bridge, which carries the McGrath Highway over the tracks. The closure was originally planned for July 18 to August 28, but was delayed and shortened due to public criticism. A further extension to Porter has been proposed by local officials. In February 2022,

1674-736: The Tremont Street subway was the private West End Street Railway , later the Boston Elevated Railway . Public ownership began in 1947 with the Metropolitan Transit Authority, now the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority . Union Square station (Somerville) Union Square station is a light rail station on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line located in

1736-520: The USQ developer, US2, agreed to fund an elevator connecting the station to the Prospect Street bridge. The first new buildings adjacent to the station broke ground in 2021 and are expected to be completed in 2022–23. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on June 25, 2018. With the design complete, work on the station foundation began in January 2020. The station platform was poured by early August 2020, with

1798-520: The areas around Union Square and East Somerville stations were expected to have the highest rent increases – up to 67% in some instances. The USQ mixed-use development in Union Square, which is primarily replacing light industrial buildings, is intended as an anti-gentrification measure by increasing housing supply and subsidizing nearby households and businesses at risk of displacement. Still, by late 2014, both residential and commercial rents were rising more than typical in Union Square. In November 2019,

1860-462: The canopy constructed that September. Tracks were installed at the station in October 2020. A signal hut at the station was in place by April 2021, with overhead lines added in May. In May 2021, the MBTA indicated that the elevator to the Prospect Street bridge might not be complete by the time the station opened, but that the normal accessible pedestrian route from Prospect Street would be available. Electrical work began in mid-2021; canopy lighting

1922-491: The construction of Phase 2/2A – Lechmere station, the Union Square Branch, and the first segment of the Medford Branch to Washington Street – with the stations to open in early 2017. Site cleanup began in September 2014. Design of the station was completed in late 2014. In August 2015, the MBTA disclosed that project costs had increased substantially, with Phase 2A rising from $ 387 million to $ 898 million. This triggered

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1984-734: The demolition of the Washington Street Elevated southern section of the Orange Line. This proposed new streetcar service could go as far south as the Red Line's Mattapan station , with a northern turnaround terminus at Government Center , according to a 2012-dated proposal. The three original tunnel entrances were in the Boston Public Garden , at North Station/Canal Street , and at Pleasant Street. Over time, these portals were replaced and abandoned as

2046-456: The direct access from the Prospect Street overpass, with entrance to be only from the plaza on the north side of the station. Several elements of the reduced-cost project design were criticized by community advocates and local politicians. E. Denise Simmons criticized the scaled-down station designs at Union Square and East Somerville for having long ramps rather than elevators, saying they were not sufficient for accessibility. In December 2016,

2108-440: The draft environmental impact report (DEIR) for the Green Line Extension (GLX). By early 2008, three alignments were under consideration: a surface route along the Fitchburg Line, with a station east of Prospect Street; a surface route on Somerville Avenue, with a station west of Prospect Street; and a single-track loop combining both routes, with an underground station under Prospect Street south of Somerville Avenue. Union Square

2170-481: The entire MBTA subway system. The viaduct was again closed from April 30 to November 4, 2011, as Science Park station was rebuilt with accessible platforms and new elevators. As part of the Green Line Extension project, the northern section of the Lechmere Elevated was removed and connected to a new elevated structure east of Route 28. The original Lechmere station was replaced with an elevated station on

2232-508: The headhouse. Plans presented in February 2012 enlarged the upper level of the headhouse to have it become the primary entrance. This would have allowed the lower entrance to be closed to accommodate the outbound track, were a proposed further extension to Porter to be built. A further update in June 2013 removed a mechanical penthouse, modified the lobby designs, and added bicycle racks near

2294-490: The new structure. The viaduct was closed (with service cut back to North Station) on May 24, 2020, with reopening then expected in April 2021. Demolition of the northern section of the Lechmere Viaduct began on June 6, 2020. Only the steel section of the viaduct north of the Gilmore Bridge was replaced; the main concrete span was restored to support Green Line Extension service and future Type 10 vehicles . By July 2021,

2356-498: The north side of the Fitchburg Line tracks. The station has a single island platform , 225 feet (69 m) long and 20 feet (6.1 m) wide, located about 250 feet (76 m) east of Prospect Street between the Green Line tracks. A canopy covers the full length of the platform. The platform is 8 inches (200 mm) high for accessible boarding on current light rail vehicles (LRVs), and can be raised to 14 inches (360 mm) for future level boarding with Type 9 and Type 10 LRVs. It

2418-455: The other alternatives. Preliminary plans in the DEIR called for a curved station platform with faregates at the west end. A two-story station building would connect to the Prospect Street bridge, with an additional connection directly to platform level from the north. Updated plans shown in May 2011 moved the platform eastwards and added moved the kiss-and-ride area from the bridge to north of

2480-431: The railroad tracks, Prospect Street, Somerville Avenue, and the rear of residential properties on Allen Street – was acquired by the city via eminent domain for $ 4.5 million in June 2013. The properties were to be vacated by August. The city also received a $ 1 million EPA grant to clean up one of the properties. In September 2013, MassDOT awarded a $ 393 million (equivalent to $ 507 million in 2023), 51-month contract for

2542-411: The rehabilitation project was 83% complete; track and signal work were complete, power work nearly complete, and concrete repairs under way. Substantial completion was reached on March 16, 2022. Only the E branch service used the viaduct at the time of its 2020 closure; the B , C , and D branches terminated in downtown Boston. With the Green Line Extension complete, the D and E branches run across

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2604-554: The site, begin construction by the spring of 2014, and open the station no later than "late 2016-early 2017". 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. The North Prospect block – a mostly industrial area bordered by

2666-580: The south (Boston) side of the river, and a short steel elevated section (the Lechmere Elevated) that sloped down to Lechmere Square on the north (East Cambridge) side. The first streetcars crossed the bridge in revenue service on June 1, 1912, shortening the ten-minute trip from Lechmere Square to the subway to just three minutes. The building of the massive structure was done entirely by the Boston Elevated Railway , without use of subcontractors. The BERy opened Lechmere station on July 10, 1922, as

2728-475: The southern portal ended in 1962; for the last several months, service consisted of a shuttle between the portal and Boylston station. The tunnel still exists, dead-ended at the now-buried portal, which has been converted to a public park. However, there have been proposals for the disused tunnel to become part of a new streetcar line that would partly replace access to rapid transit for southern Metro Boston neighborhoods that lost rapid transit service in 1987 with

2790-535: The station building was reused for manufacturing by 1924. By 1929, the only service to Union Square and Somerville was one outbound and two inbound Watertown Branch trains. Service to the two stations ended on July 9, 1938, along with the end of passenger service on the Watertown Branch. The station building was demolished sometime between 1936 and 1940. Adding an MBTA Commuter Rail Fitchburg Line station at Union Square has been considered; by 2003,

2852-421: The station by 2017, and a construction contract was awarded in 2013. Cost increases triggered a wholesale reevaluation of the GLX project in 2015. A scaled-down station design was released in 2016, with a design and construction contract issued in 2017. Construction of Union Square station began in early 2020 and was largely completed by late 2021. The station was initially served by the Green Line E branch , but

2914-613: The station was expected to open in October 2021. This was delayed in June 2021 to a December 2021 opening due to supply chain issues, and in October 2021 to a March 2022 opening due to issues with a substation. Train testing on the Union Square Branch began in December 2021. Pre-revenue service, where trains on the branch were operated on a revenue schedule but without passengers aboard, began on January 16, 2022. The Union Square Branch opened on March 21, 2022. The elevator opened in late April 2022. From August 6 to 21, 2022, Union Square

2976-479: The station will be a walkway from Prospect Street to the north. To the north of the entrance plaza will be "Station Plaza", built by the developer of an adjacent building. An elevator and stairs will connect to the Prospect Street bridge. A covered shelter will have racks for 86 bikes. The elevator opened in April 2022, but Station Plaza will not be completed until 2023. Five MBTA bus routes – 85 , 86 , 87 , 91 ,   and   CT2 – stop in Union Square near

3038-563: The station. The Charlestown Branch Railroad was extended through Somerville in 1841, opening on January 5, 1842. It was absorbed into the Fitchburg Railroad in 1846. Prospect Street station – which was located off Medford Street (now Webster Avenue), slightly west of Prospect Street – was opened within several years to serve the Sand Pit Square area. Like Somerville station and other local stops, Prospect Street

3100-469: The subway was extended. Vestiges of various closed portals are still visible inside the main Green Line's Boylston Street subway tunnel extending west of Boylston station towards Kenmore Square station. The western Public Garden portal was replaced in 1914 with two portals, one in the middle of Boylston Street adjacent to the old portal, and the other at the west end of the Boylston Street subway , just east of Kenmore Square . The Boylston Street portal

3162-624: 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. Work was completed in December 1911. 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. As passengers volumes dwindled,

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3224-411: The tunnel was extensively altered during the construction of Government Center and a new Boston City Hall on what had been the neighborhood of Scollay Square. The northbound tunnel to Haymarket station was rerouted to the west (the southbound tunnel is still original). Scollay Square station was rebuilt as Government Center station, and Adams Square station was closed. Much of the old northbound tunnel

3286-568: The upper entrance. 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 would 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 would pay for cleanup costs at

3348-442: The viaduct: the E branch to Medford/​Tufts , and the D branch to Union Square . Service over the viaduct resumed with the opening of the Union Square Branch on March 21, 2022. The Union Square Branch was closed from August 22 to September 18, 2022. The closure allowed for wire replacement on the Lechmere Viaduct, increasing speeds from 10 miles per hour (16 km/h) to 25 miles per hour (40 km/h), as well as final integration of

3410-499: Was among the planned station sites officially announced in May 2008. Several additional potential tunnel alternatives for an underground station at Union Square, with a short tunnel near Prospect Street or a longer tunnel under Somerville Avenue, were analyzed in 2008 and found not to be cost-effective. The DEIR, released in October 2009, selected the Fitchburg Line routing on the basis of lower cost, higher reliability due to grade separation, and less property acquisition required than

3472-487: Was filled in to support the City Hall foundation; another section was turned into a delivery tunnel. Another section was rediscovered by a City Hall employee in 1983; a 150-foot (46 m) piece was renovated for use as records storage. In 1971, the original Haymarket station was replaced with a new station just to the south. The subway in 1897 consisted of a main line under Tremont Street running to Park Street, where

3534-421: Was functional and next-train countdown signs were in place by that November. Original plans called for the E Branch to be extended to Union Square. In April 2021, the MBTA indicated that Union Square would instead be served by the D Branch . However, the Union Square Branch will be initially served by the E Branch rather than the D Branch from its opening until Medford Branch testing begins. By March 2021,

3596-470: Was primarily served by Lexington Branch trains in the mid-19th century. The nearby square became Union Square in the 1860s, but the station was not renamed Union Square until around 1875. Prospect Street was placed on a bridge over the railroad by 1849, but Webster Street crossed the railroad at grade. Planning to eliminate the eleven remaining grade crossings in Somerville, five of which were on

3658-552: Was sealed in 1941 when the Huntington Avenue subway was opened (with a new portal at Northeastern University ). The portal at Kenmore Square was replaced in 1932 when the subway was extended west beyond the Square, to the existing portals on Commonwealth Avenue (the "B" branch ) and Beacon Street (the "C" branch ), although the top arch of the original portal survives as part of a ventilation shaft. The Fenway portal for

3720-461: Was served by C and D branch trains, as the E branch was closed for maintenance work. The Union Square Branch was closed from August 22 to September 18, 2022; the closure allowed for final integration of the Medford Branch, elimination of a speed restriction on the Lechmere Viaduct, and other work. After that closure, Union Square was served by a mixture of D and E branch trains until November 1, when E branch trains began operating pre-revenue service on

3782-558: Was the 12-span, 1,700-foot (520 m)-long viaduct crossing the Charles River. The spans are numbered 1 to 12 from south to north. Ten of the spans are arches; span 3 is a bascule drawbridge over the Charles River channel through the Charles River Dam Bridge, while the span 12 (the northernmost span) is a girder span over the Gilmore Bridge approach. The viaduct connected to the Causeway Street Elevated on

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3844-535: Was to be about 0.4 miles (0.6 km) to the east. A 1980s corridor plan considered a direct extension to Union Square as a possible alternative. The 1991 agreement between the state and the Conservation Law Foundation specified a " Green Line Extension To Ball Square/Tufts University". The 2003 Program for Mass Transportation considered both Green Line and Blue Line extensions to West Medford , including alignments that would deviate from

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