Orange Line Service Disrupted After Weekend Construction Worker Hurt
BOSTON (CBS) – Commuters on the MBTA's Orange Line were hit with an awful surprise Monday morning as service between Sullivan and Tufts remained shut down because of late weekend construction work that left one person hurt.
The MBTA said there was an accident involving "two pieces of construction equipment" that left one worker with a "minor injury," later described as chest pain, late Sunday night. The incident prompted an investigation, which delayed the weekend track replacement work.
That work was supposed to be finished in time for the Monday morning rush hour. Instead, the work went on through the commute, angering thousands of riders who were forced to line up and wait for buses to shuttle them between Sullivan and Haymarket stations.
Regular service resumed shortly after 2 p.m. The MBTA tweeted that all work "has been completed and safety tested."
"Usually we get notifications but I didn't see any on my way there," a rider told WBZ-TV.
MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak apologized to riders for the interruption in service. "Obviously we regret the inconvenience, not only to our Orange Line riders, but to our Green Line riders and our bus riders," Poftak said. "We had to pull buses off routes so we could run this level of bus diversion. Not the service we want to provide."
The buses filled up so fast, it took some commuters a few tries before they could get on one.
"Once I get on this bus I gotta take a train to the Green Line to go to work, I'm still not at work, it's gonna take me about four hours to get to work today, which is ridiculous," commuter Rashita Clark told WBZ.
Donald Rankins of Roxbury said he was two hours late for work Monday morning. A story many other riders echoed.
Riders, like, Keyla Woodward, questioning the quality of the service they're receiving. "I don't understand how the prices are going up, but the service isn't getting any better. Especially over the winter, the summer and now this today," Woodward said.
Despite Rankins two hour commute, he's thankful for the service. "So hopefully when I get down for the Orange line, heading back to Jackson Square, it will be about 10-15 minutes before I'm home," said Rankins, who later, praised the MBTA for its efforts. "We're paying a lot and a lot is going in. We appreciate the service and folks are working real hard."
The Orange Line work is a project that will last six weekends and is scheduled to end November 10th.
For more information visit mbta.com.