This page describes the ongoing planning process for the I-90 Allston Multimodal Project, with a particular focus on its transit elements. The most notable transit feature in the project is West Station, an infill station on the Framingham/Worcester commuter rail line. The page also discusses other related aspects, such as the associated bus hub and improvements to the Grand Junction railroad.

This page is part of the “Official Projects” series. It is listed as a standalone page, as opposed to a section in the “Official Projects: Stations” page, due to the wide scope and complexity of the project.

Last updated: April 20, 2024 (update on removal of layover tracks, brief update on MBTA route 64)

Introduction

The I-90 Allston Multimodal Project is a mega project that involves substantial redevelopments and infrastructural revamps in the vicinity of I-90 Allston Viaduct and former Beacon Park Yard, as a collaboration between the state, MassDOT, the City of Boston, Harvard University and many other parties. While the immediate motivation of the project is to replace the aging Allston Viaduct, its scope is very broad and includes, but is not limited to:

1. Replacement and realignment of the regional road network, including I-90 (Massachusetts Turnpike), Soldiers Field Rd, and their interchange with Cambridge St
2. West Station, a commuter rail infill station on the Framingham/Worcester Line
3. Redesign of local road grids between the Framingham/Worcester right-of-way (ROW) and Cambridge St, and redevelopment of land owned by Harvard University
4. Realignment of pedestrian and bicycle paths along the Charles River waterfront, currently Dr Paul Dudley White Bike Path
5. A bus hub adjacent to West Station
6. Provision for a transit route (commuter rail or otherwise) on Grand Junction, with dedicated platforms at West Station

Given that this is a transit blog, I will focus my coverage primarily on items related to transit, namely #2, #5 and #6. (Unfortunately, a lot of time and attention spent on the project ended up being about other more controversial aspects, especially the “throat” area just to the west of BU Bridge.)

Project status: Planning, seeking funding (as of Apr 13, 2024)

• Mass.gov project main page
• Mass.gov fact sheet (2024)
• Mass.gov about mage (project background, benefits, milestones)
• StreetBlogMASS’s guide (Oct 2019, updated May 2022)

West Station Commuter Rail Station

West Station, the commuter rail station itself, is a planned infill station on the Framingham/Worcester Line. As of the latest design, updated in June 2022, the station has 9 tracks and 3 platforms.

Tracks:

• North: 2 Grand Junction tracks
  • These 2 tracks continue further west to at least Cambridge St, where they get out of the project area. Today, they merge into the mainline tracks near Boston Landing.
• Center North: 2 Framingham/Worcester Line tracks
• Center South: 4 yard tracks, replacing the old Beacon Park Yard
  • These yard tracks are likely to be removed in future designs, following comments from MassDOT Secretary Tibbits-Nutt in April 2024. More details in this section.
• South: 1 express track for the Framingham/Worcester Line

Platforms:

• North: Grand Junction shortened side platform
• Center: Island platform with Grand Junction to the north and Framingham/Worcester Line to the south
• South: Framingham/Worcester Line side platform

While the project does not appear to aim for Grand Junction passenger rail service to start in tandem, there are explicit provisions for such a service to Cambridge with two tracks. More details are discussed in the Grand Junction section below.

• June 2022 task force meeting presentation (with West Station designs)

Likely Upcoming Changes Since the Latest Designs

In April 2024, Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt noted in an interview that she will not support the layover tracks and yards at West Station. Previous designs proposed 4 yard tracks for 8 train sets to the south of platforms.

Tibbits-Nutt cited neighborhood impacts as contributing factors. She also explained that the primary function of these layover tracks is instead expected to be achieved by new facilities at Widett Circle, which MBTA had purchased and was negotiating with the City of Boston. Discussions about express tracks further south were still ongoing.

• Commonwealth Beacon article, where this information was reported
• Community discussion, from archBoston user F-Line to Dudley, offering more context and explanations

Bus Hub and Bus Infrastructure

West Station is planned to have a major bus terminal next to the commuter rail station. It will primarily be used by three private shuttle routes, to Harvard, Kendall/MIT and Longwood Medical Area. MBTA route 64 is also planned to serve West Station, but it does not use the busway according to latest plans.

(It should be noted that West Station’s street grid hinders north-south connectivity, which may prevent more public bus routes from connecting here.)

Busway Layout

The most recent update on bus loop layout designs was given during a task force meeting in February 2024. The busway will have 6 berths serving 40-ft buses for three private shuttle routes. Two design concepts were proposed, with two parallel busways and a loop busway respectively.

MBTA route 64 serves West Station via roadside stops on Seattle St, the major north-south thoroughfare through the station, without entering the busway (presumably due to the long detour associated with using it). Feasibility of bus lanes at this section, as well as on the section of Cambridge St Bypass Rd next to the busway, “will be evaluated”.

• Feb 2024 task force meeting presentation (with bus loop designs)

Malvern St Transitway

Just south of West Station and the railroad ROW, a short Malvern St Transitway is proposed, connecting the existing Malvern St in BU to the main West Station complex and its thoroughfare, Seattle St. The transitway’s design was released in a November 2023 task force meeting. The plan calls for bidirectional bus lanes (each lane is 11′ wide), bidirectional bus lanes, and an optional connection to the southside path (a pedestrian and bike path that runs parallel to the railroad ROW).

• Nov 2023 task force meeting presentation (with transitway designs)

It should be noted that even with this transitway, the southern portion of Malvern St across BU remain not well-connected to the street grid. At 25′ wide, the street is barely wide enough for buses to pass through in mixed traffic, and its intersection with Brighton Ave has major design issues. Ashford St, the east-west road that the transitway connects to, is not much better. These limitations may severely affect the utility of this transitway, and in the current plans, the only buses to use the transitway are the Longwood Medical Area shuttles.

Cambridge St Bypass: An Overlooked Way Out?

Given the discussion above regarding limited utility of Malvern St transitway to the south, one may be tempted to think of West Station as a dead-end to the north for buses. Thankfully, there is another channel for local buses to reach the busway, but it’s one that is often overlooked and omitted in discussions: Cambridge St Bypass Rd.

Cambridge St Bypass Rd is a proposed road that starts from the doorsteps of the West Station complex (at the Seattle St/Malvern St intersection, the main north-south corridor of the area), continues west above the yard/express tracks of the Framingham/Worcester ROW, and ends at Cambridge St.

The road will likely become a valuable corridor for those from the west to access the station. But more importantly, I think this addition is crucial for improving the utility of the bus hub. Not only does it allow through-running buses that connect to commuter rail (possibly route 64 and the likes), but it can also potentially allow routes major population centers such as Allston, Brighton and Brookline.

Tracing the history of the project’s meeting materials, I found the first mention of Cambridge St to be at a Public Information Meeting (PIM) in June 2022. Apparently, shortly before the meeting, a masterplan map of the entire project area was released and eventually became widely disseminated — the first map I showed on this page. At that time, the addition of Cambridge St Bypass Rd was subject to a future Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Report (SDEIR). However, a subsequent update in August 2023 shows the road being in the base map just like numerous others, which seem to suggest it has passed the SDEIR.

• June 2022 Public Information Meeting (PIM) presentation (with Cambridge St Bypass subject to SDEIR
• Aug 2023 task force meeting presentation (with Cambridge St Bypass as part of the base map)

Grand Junction

In the context of this project, discussions of the Grand Junction railroad mostly focuses on its integration with West Station, the throat, and connection to the Boston University (BU) Bridge. Concurrently, MassDOT and others have also considered commuter rail service on the corridor between West Station and Kendall, possibly continuing to North Station or Sullivan Square. (Such plans may or may not be related to this project, and this page will be updated to provide a clearer answer to that in the future.)

While today’s Grand Junction is a single-track railroad that only splits off from the Framingham/Worcester ROW near BU Bridge, the project double-tracks it at West Station and the throat, allowing independent, deinterlined commuter rail operations from the Framingham/Worcester Line if necessary.

Platforms and Tracks at West Station

As mentioned in the West Station section above, the Grand Junction railroad is planned to have its own 2 tracks within the station, separate from the Framingham/Worcester Line.

(With an island platform between it and the Framingham/Worcester Line, this may present future challenges for fare control if Grand Junction service was implemented as rapid transit instead of mainline rail, but there are solutions.)

Through the Throat to BU Bridge

A task force meeting in February 2024 discussed the throat area design (in continued development of the Modified At-Grade Option that had been identified as the preferred option in September 2021). While the update was focused on shoreline alternatives, such as pedestrian paths along the Charles River waterfront, it also briefly shows designs for Grand Junction and its overpass above I-90 to BU Bridge.

In the February 2024 plan, 2 Grand Junction tracks and 2 Framingham/Worcester tracks run parallel to the at-grade I-90 to its south through the throat area. Towards the east, the Grand Junction tracks cross above I-90 to the east while turning north towards BU Bridge.

(The plan above may have predated the Feb 2024 task force update. This page will be updated in the future to clarify this.)

• Feb 2024 task force meeting presentation (with Grand Junction overpass design)

Funding

The latest cost estimate of the project (allegedly as of August 2023) is $1.92 billion. MassDOT plans to gather $500 million from federal funding, $1.2 billion from the state funded by taxpayers, and $300 million from local agencies such as Harvard University and the City of Boston (source: StreetBlogMass).

Unfortunately, the project had suffered various setbacks in funding applications in its earlier stages. As of March 2024, it has secured $335 million from federal grants.