The Green Line Extension is Finally Happening

By Real Estate August 7, 2018

After years of stagnation, the plan to extend the Green Line is officially underway. The $2.3 billion project is set to be completed and tested in 2020 and will begin providing service to residents the following year in 2021.

The extension is set to add 4.7 miles of new service throughout Somerville and Medford while also slightly relocating Lechmere in Cambridge. From Lechmere there will be two branches that extend North, the main branch and the second branch. The main branch will add five new stops in the order of East Somerville, Gilman Square, Magoun Square, Ball Square, and end at College Avenue near Tufts University. These 3.7 miles will be a part of the “D” branch of the Green Line.

The second branch will add one new stop extending from Lechmere to Union Square. This 1-mile extension will be a part of the “E” branch. There will also be 24 new Green Line cars added with the extension in order to assure fast service and not increase wait times with the miles of added tracks.

The project is said to gain 7,000-8,000 new transit users once completed. Residents in both Somerville and Medford will be able to commute in and out of the city more easily with the added convenience. The extended service will not only gain new commuters, but better serve those who already rely on the subway on a regular basis. Currently, a large number of Green Line passengers are beginning their commute on the Orange or Red Line, later switching at larger stations that connect to the Green Line.

According to the MassDOT website, the extension will decrease the number of cars on the road in the morning as well. This will not only reduce the amount of morning and evening traffic, but improve air quality and serve as a more environmentally-friendly commuting option. The project also aims to maximize the usage of already existing railroad rights-of-way in order to reduce construction impacts and avoid purchasing local property as much as possible.

Although the project is a few years away from being completed, locals are eager for the extension to begin providing service after waiting almost three decades to get it started.

About the Author
Joshua Stephens, Vice President

Joshua Stephens is the founder and president of Moving Greater Boston and a Vice President of Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Warren Residential. After graduating from UMASS Amherst with a degree in psychology in 2008, Josh dedicated five years to social service work on the North Shore before joining Berkshire Hathaway in 2013, where he found his professional calling and quickly distinguished himself as a motivated innovator capable of synthesizing the needs of buyers, sellers, investors, and developers. In just a few short years, Josh formed Moving Greater Boston and achieved over $100 million in sales after only 7 years in the business. Josh's team has been consistently recognized at both the local and national levels, receiving numerous prestigious awards for sales and customer service. Last year, the Moving Greater Boston team was awarded the coveted Chairman’s Circle Platinum award for all of Berkshire Hathaway Home Services, which recognizes agents and teams that are in the top 1% for sales across a network of over 70,000 agencies. In 2017, Josh was also personally selected to serve on the Berkshire Hathaway Home Services National REthink Council, an honor bestowed upon only 15 agents among thousands of applicants. Despite his many and ongoing successes in the world of real estate, Joshua has never lost sight of his social work roots. A compassionate and principled professional who knows the value of strong communities, Josh continues his advocacy outside of the office by being actively involved in a number of local organizations and charities. In 2016, he was instrumental in conceptualizing and developing Business Networking International (BNI) Prospect Hill, an organization that connects local business professionals and aspiring entrepreneurs. As a native of Massachusetts, Joshua has an intimate knowledge of Boston real estate, while having a degree in psychology helps him to understand each of his clients' unique needs, enabling him to connect them with ideal communities, an opportunity which he considers both a priority and privilege. Rather than simply facilitating the buying and selling of property, Josh views his role as a realtor as a lifelong commitment to continually serving the best interests of the people who have put their trust in him. Josh continually strives for excellence in service, provides in-depth knowledge of the market, and blends unwavering integrity with amenable good humor to alleviate the stress of real estate transactions and assure the experience is one that lets the sensation of being in the perfect place, at the perfect time, truly resonate.