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MBTA to advance hybrid busway design for Lower Broadway after study narrows options
Summary
MBTA staff presented two early design alternatives for a dedicated busway on Lower Broadway/Alford Street, said Alternative 2 showed unacceptable traffic impacts and will not advance, and pledged to carry select elements from Alternative 2 into a hybrid design while aiming for 15% design later this year and additional community outreach in late spring.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority on a virtual March public meeting presented early design work for the Lower Broadway–Alford Street Transit Priority Corridor and said it will advance a hybrid alternative that mostly follows Alternative 1 while adopting select features from Alternative 2.
Andrew McFarland, senior project manager at the MBTA, described the roughly one-mile corridor from Sweetser Circle in Everett across the Alford Street Bridge to Sullivan Square in Charlestown and framed the work as the next step in a decade of Silver Line planning. “This project is a continuation of many planning efforts and we are at the beginning of our design process,” McFarland said, adding the team wants public feedback to refine a concept that will later support federal grant obligations.
James Lamas, the engineer leading the design effort, summarized two alternatives the team studied. Alternative 1 maintains two general‑purpose travel lanes in each direction in most of Everett, extends a two‑lane transitway through the south part of the corridor and uses directional bike lanes, while Alternative 2 extends the separated busway farther north, introduces a two‑way bikeway on the west side and would remove a northbound general‑purpose lane north of Thorndike Street. Lamas said the team found “significant impacts on traffic” from Alternative 2 and is not advancing it as presented, but plans to carry some of its favorable elements into a hybrid alternative.
The MBTA staff also reiterated that the project builds toward a future Silver Line 3 (SL3) extension and that a dedicated busway is meant to improve bus reliability and prepare the corridor for higher-capacity service. Staff cited recent service increases on several routes and said the corridor today serves roughly 8,500 daily riders who would benefit from improved transit reliability.
On funding, the presentation referenced federal grant support for the project; Andrew McFarland stated a $22 million award during the slide presentation, while Jay Montie (Director of Transportation and Mobility) later referred to a $28 million grant when thanking the project team. Staff did not reconcile the two figures during the meeting and said they would follow up with more documentation.
The MBTA said it aims to reach a 15% design later this year and return to the community with a refined hybrid alternative in late spring, including in‑person meetings in Everett and Charlestown. Staff encouraged attendees to submit written comments and sign up for email updates on the project website.
The project team emphasized the preliminary nature of the designs: “none of them are set in stone,” Lamas cautioned, and said many details will change as the team evaluates traffic, environmental review and right‑of‑way constraints.
Next steps include refining the hybrid alternative, continuing coordination with the City of Boston’s Sullivan Square/Rutherford Avenue work, advancing traffic and environmental analyses, and posting the meeting slides and supporting materials online for public review.
