Part Of Red Line To Be Shut Down For Repairs For 4 Weekends

BOSTON (CBS) -- Beginning this weekend, part of the Red Line, between the Broadway and Kendall/MIT stations, will shut down Friday evening through Sunday for repairs. The shutdown will happen over four weekends, excluding the weekend after Thanksgiving, and last through the weekend of Dec. 13.

The MBTA said the shutdown will allow them to complete station improvements and track replacements at the Park Street and Downtown Crossing stations as part of the MBTA's Capital Acceleration Plan. They said the shutdowns will result in the department finishing work on the Red Line at those stations months ahead of schedule.

Service on the Red Line will be affected from 8:45 p.m. on Nov. 15 through Nov. 17, 8:45 p.m. on Nov. 22 through Nov. 24, 8:45 p.m. on Dec. 6 through Dec. 8 and 8:45 p.m. on Dec. 13 through Dec. 15. Riders will still be able to take shuttle buses between Broadway and Kendall/MIT.

"The reason we have to have a diversion of that length is because to get the track replacement materials into the core of the system, we need to enter from the surface," MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak said Thursday. "So we really need a wide expanse."

The MBTA recently completed similar improvements on the Orange Line after several weekend shutdowns.

For more information, visit the MBTA's website.