Red/Blue Line Connector
Project Background
Presently, the Red and Blue Lines are the only two lines of the MBTA subway system that do not intersect. The Red/Blue Connector would bring these two lines together at the Charles/MGH station at the foot of the Longfellow Bridge.
The preferred design described in the state's April 2010 Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) would mine a tunnel under Cambridge street from the current Bowdoin Street Blue Line station down to the Charles/MGH Red Line station. The Bowdoin station, which is currently only open weekdays, would close to make way for a new Blue Line station at Charles/MGH.
Even though construction of the project is unfunded, the state must complete design of the project by December 31, 2011 in order to comply with its State Implementation Plan (SIP), a document required under the federal Clean Air Act. In May 2010, the state's secretary of energy and environmental affairs issued a Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) certificate 
based on the DEIR, a key milestone in the planning process.
Why It's Important
The Red/Blue Connector aims to improve air quality, increase public transportation ridership, and enhance system capacity. For Red Line riders coming from Cambridge and northwest of Boston, the connector will ease access to Logan Airport; for Blue Line riders in East Boston, Revere and on the North Shore, it will provide a one-seat ride to and from Massachusetts General Hospital and other medical facilities nearby.
The DEIR predicts Blue Line ridership will increase by 4,200 and 4,400 riders per day. The project would also redistribute boardings at major downtown transit stations, relieving congestion at many of the busiest stations in the system. Regionally, the project is expected to result in a net reduction of vehicle trips, reducing weekday vehicle miles traveled by approximately 5,250 in 2030. That, in turn, will improve air quality throughout the region.
ABC's Role
ABC has been a member of the Red Line/Blue Line Connector Working Group since it was established in 2009. The project has also been reviewed by the ABC Project Development Committee, which submitted comments on the DEIR . ABC will continue to remain engaged as part of the Working Group as the planning process shifts to construction phasing and traffic management.
