LYNN — The Lynn commuter rail station and garage should be fully refurbished and modernized by fall 2023, according to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
As part of a “multi-phase” project, design work to upgrade the Central Square MBTA station’s track beds, tenant spaces, arcade, garage and other infrastructure will begin in March, according to MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo. That work is expected to take 14 months. New York City-based engineering firm Thornton Tomasetti has been selected to be the project’s design team.
Construction is anticipated to start in fall 2021, Pesaturo said in a statement, and is expected to be completed 24 months later. There is $33 million budgeted for the project, Pesaturo said.
State Rep. Peter Capano said he is “excited” about the project, but that he will be speaking with the design team in an effort to see that phase finished sooner.
The Lynn Democrat said maybe locals, like himself, who live down the street from the station, can provide details to move things along.
“I think 14 months for the design, I’d like to cut that at least in half,” Capano said. “That seems like a long time. Other than that (construction) seems pretty quick.”
Capano said he understands that construction will take two years because the MBTA will keep the station open and functional during that time.
“The fact that they are looking at Lynn is good,” said Capano, adding he has had calls from constituents about the state of the station.
Specifically, Capano said, people want to feel “safer and more welcome” at the station’s parking garage, and that should be a priority for design. If people feel more comfortable using the MBTA station, it will “reduce congestion and offer more opportunities for people to get into Boston,” Capano said.
The project is currently in its second and final phase. In 2016, the station underwent “urgent repairs” as part of phase one, and received new sidewalks, replaced step stones to prevent pedestrian accidents, replaced stair and elevator equipment, improved drainage, expansion joint and structural repairs. Those repairs were completed in 2017, with additional repairs having taken place since then on an as-needed basis, Pesaturo said.
“It needs a $33 million dollar facelift,” said state Rep. Dan Cahill (D-Lynn). Cahill said the station’s garage has been in a state of disrepair “for years,” and that he frequently hears from constituents concerned about the station’s condition.
“I get Facebook messages, I get texts with pictures and I get calls about the disrepairs,” Cahill said.
As a legislator, Cahill said he wants to make sure commuters get to share their opinions during the upcoming design phase.
Danna Gobel, a Lynn resident who uses the commuter rail daily, said she has felt unsafe at Central Square Station, particularly in the garage.
“All I’ve observed is the crumbling infrastructure around me in the parking garage. As someone who drives every day to the parking garage I am very fearful,” Gobel said.
Gobel, an education program manager at Boston Medical Center, said she has been a commuter since moving to the city in last May, and the commuter rail service is the most convenient way to get to work, despite the station’s conditions.
“It strikes me as very neglected and dangerous,” Gobel said. “There’s literally blocks of cement falling and landing on the steps. The metal is showing in places because the infrastructure has worn thin.”
Gobel also said she is concerned about the project timeline. “I think it’s an emergency right now,” Gobel said. “I’m not sure if I’ll be able to drive safely into that garage and walk on those stairs in 14 months.”
Local politicians, Gobel said, should try to hurry the project along. In the future, she would like to see “crisis money” available that may be used to make instant repairs on aging public infrastructure.
Lynn Mayor Thomas M. McGee said the station’s need for repair has been a topic of conversation among residents and local officials for many years.
“It’s a substantial investment, and it’s long overdue,” McGee said.
McGee also said the political push to upgrade the station and the push to have more frequent, rapid transit in Lynn are linked. He is hopeful the latter will be a result of this project.
He said it’s important to have Central Square Station and all its components modernized.
“It sits right in the center of our city, and it’s a key piece of economic development in our city,” McGee said.
He said he has no concerns about the timeline of the project, but “it’s important that this is a real timeline” that will be strictly adhered to.
“The key piece is we do the design the right way,” McGee said. “And that’s with input from citizens.”
As with others, the condition of the parking garage has been a specific concern for McGee.
“(The garage is) one of the No. 1 constituent calls I get,” said state Sen. Brendan Crighton (D-Lynn). “The need has been there for quite some time.”
The current Central Square Station was built in the 1990s and is a stop on the T’s Commuter Rail Newburyport/Rockport Line. The station is set up with a center island platform serving both station tracks on an elevated grade running through downtown. The station also serves as a hub for several bus routes serving the North Shore.
The state of the MBTA stop has been a “big issue” for Lynn commuters for many years, Crighton said, at least as far back as 2010, when he was a city councillor.
He said he has brought people to visit the station and its parking garage on several occasions, and the need for repairs has been instantly apparent.
“I’ve been stuck on the elevator a couple times with guests there. It’s not the best way to show off your city,” Crighton said.
Crighton said the garage’s structural integrity and water leakage are specific problems that need to be addressed during the project. He said he is comfortable with the project timeline.
Crighton also said he would like to see the MBTA’s Blue Line extended from Wonderland Station in Revere to Lynn, and will continue to advocate for the Blue Line extension, which has been a topic of discussion among transportation officials since the 1930s.
When it comes to public transportation in Lynn, the main goals are having more frequent stops and fare prices comparable to those of the Boston subway system, Crighton said. Central Square Station should accomplish those goals as a commuter rail stop, regardless of what happens with the Blue Line, he said.
