The T urged commuters to work from home in a statement issued Thursday night.
“Because of expected delays on local roads as buses navigate Boston’s downtown streets, the MBTA also encourages commuters directly impacted by the tunnel closures to consider working from home if possible during this time,” the transit agency said.
Gov. Baker’s office did not immediately respond to a Globe request to discuss the latest issue to impact MBTA services. The Globe asked to speak with T General Manager Steve Poftak on Friday, but was told by MBTA spokeswoman Lisa Battiston that “unfortunately GM Poftak isn’t available today.”
On board a shuttle bus from Government Center to North Station, some commuters expressed frustration about how the shutdown has made their commute more complicated.
“It’s been a little bit annoying,” said Noah Albino, 27, of Jamaica Plain, who was heading to Lechmere Station. “This isn’t going to take me to Lechmere Station, it’s just gonna get me to North Station, so I’ll probably have to walk the rest.”
His commute is typically 45 minutes, but today, he said, it’s been about 1 hour and 15 minutes. He assumed he’d be late to his job as a tour guide.
The T is “extremely important to getting around for me at least,” he said. “I can’t afford an Uber to just get from place to place. I don’t drive and I don’t want to drive.”
Boston University freshmen Sydney Pecoraro and Kayla Zuccarelli were headed to North Station to get on the commuter rail to Salem for a class field trip. Already dealing with “frustrating” shuttle buses on the B Line due to Green Line track work, the two women faced further delays trying to travel some three miles across the city.
“The T is convenient, and the shuttle buses … try to be on time, but it’s not as consistent,” said Pecoraro, 19. ”They’re a lot fuller because they’re not as big, and so sometimes you have to wait for the next one to get on.”
The structural issue comes just three months after a deck collapse at the Government Center Garage resulted in the death of a worker.
The disruption was announced Thursday night by the MBTA and the HYM Investment Group, which is redesigning the garage and its immediate surroundings into Bulfinch Crossing, a multibillion-dollar commercial development. Officials said the support columns for the garage were found to be “severely deteriorated” by engineers inspecting the subway tunnels.
The company said the structural issues on the columns was not connected to the demolition of the garage.
But the issue is the latest calamity for the MBTA, whose aging subway system has brought federal scrutiny that identified several safety issues, including insufficient staffing.
A passenger was dragged to his death by a Red Line train in April. This week, new Orange Line trains were taken out of service over safety concerns.
On Thursday, engineers for the HYM Investment Group notified the MBTA “that the garage’s support columns that pass through MBTA tunnels near Haymarket station are severely deteriorated, creating an unsafe environment in the tunnel area for Green Line and Orange Line trains to operate through,” the MBTA said Thursday.
It is not known when service will resume, the T said.
Poftak said in a statement Thursday night that the T will demand that HYM pay costs associated with service disruptions.
“This service disruption as a result of HYM’s project is unacceptable and the MBTA will seek to hold HYM Construction accountable for all costs associated with this event,” he said in a statement Thursday night. “Riders’ safety is our top priority and unfortunately, as a result of this private party’s project, we must divert trains until the tunnels can be inspected and cleared by independent experts.”
The developers of the garage project said the column was compromised by long-term water damage.
“A subsurface column in proximity to the Green and Orange Lines was identified as…
Read More: Parts of Green, Orange lines remain shut down amid ‘structural issue’ at Government Center Garage
