SPRING 2014
Silver Line Gateway: Service to Chelsea, East Boston and the Blue Line
Chelsea and East Boston are bustling
communities, attractive for commuters and
densely populated, yet they lack direct public
transit access to the growth in employment
and cultural opportunities in Boston’s Seaport
District. Silver Line Gateway will extend
bus-rapid transit service, known as BRT, from
the growing Seaport District across Boston
Harbor into East Boston and Chelsea. This
extension will enhance the quality of life for
many residents who currently ride overcrowded
MBTA buses to reach rapid transit service or
make multiple transfers before arriving at their
final destination. In fact, three of the MBTA’s Key
Bus Routes — the 15 highest ridership/highest
frequency routes — operate in Chelsea.
Map of the Silver Line Gateway route which will
feature exclusive busway and new stations.
Silver Line Gateway is a new branch of the
MBTA Silver Line Waterfront Service. From
Boston’s South Station, the new Silver Line
Gateway will follow the same route and serve
the same stations in the Seaport as the existing
Silver Line Waterfront services. Then it will use
the Williams Tunnel and airport service roads to
connect with East Boston neighborhoods and the
Blue Line at Airport Blue Line Station (bypassing
the Logan Airport terminals, already served by the
SL1 route). Following the Coughin Bypass Road,
the buses will travel over the existing Chelsea
Street Bridge into Chelsea.
CHELSEA
COMMUTER RAIL
EVERETT
REVERE
DOWNTOWN CHELSEA
MYSTIC MALL
BOX DISTRICT
CHELSEA
EASTERN AVENUE
EAST
BOSTON
WOOD
WOOD ISLAND
ISLAND
AIRPORT
MAVERICK
MAVERICK
MassDOT evaluated three potential routes to extend Silver Line service into
Chelsea. After a detailed analysis and discussions with the communities,
MassDOT is advancing the “Busway to Mystic Mall” route, which has the
fastest travel time, highest ridership projections, and strongest public
support. In Chelsea, Silver Line vehicles will travel in a new designated
busway along a MassDOT owned former railroad corridor. The route is
separate from local roadways and free of traffic congestion, yet it offers
stations with direct access to neighborhoods and commercial centers, and
it makes intermodal connections with commuter rail and local buses.
BOWDOIN
BOWDOIN
GOVERNMENT
GOVERNMENT
CENTER
CENTER
Logan
International
Airport
93
AQUARIUM
AQUARIUM
STATE
STATE
BOSTON
90
COURTHOUSE
SOUTH STATION
WORLD TRADE CENTER
SILVER LINE WAY
Silver Line Gateway | SPRING 2014
1
Crunched for time?
Silver Line Gateway will cut travel time by more than half
when compared to existing public transportation from
Chelsea and East Boston to Boston’s Seaport District!
Consider a current and future trip from downtown Chelsea
to World Trade Center (WTC) in Boston:
Now 111 Bus 39 min (transfers required)
Commuter Rail 36 min (transfers required)
minutes
Blue Line 37
37 min (transfers required)
On the Silver Lane Gateway
17
17 min (single seat ride)
minutes
Other Project Elements
Contact Us
The Washington Avenue Bridge in Chelsea, which spans the
existing commuter rail line and planned busway, is functionally
obsolete and scheduled to be replaced. The replacement
bridge will provide enough clearance for the rail line and two
busway lanes to pass beneath it. In addition, the existing Chelsea
Commuter Rail station will be relocated to a new fully accessible
station west of Everett Avenue, co-located with a new Silver Line
Gateway BRT station. A new downtown Chelsea BRT station
will replace the existing commuter rail station. It will feature a
more direct connection to Bellingham Square via new access
to Washington Avenue. MassDOT is planning other stations in
Chelsea at Eastern Avenue and in the Box District (see the route
map on page 1). A shared-use path will be incorporated into
the project along the west side of the busway generally between
Broadway and Eastern Avenue.
For more information about Silver Line Gateway:
Visit the project website at
www.massdot.state.ma.us/
silverlinegateway. You can
sign up for project emails at
alerts in the Email updates box.
Scott Hamwey,
MassDOT Planning,
(857) 368-8857
Connect with MassDOT
www.mass.gov/massdot
blog.mass.gov/transportation
www.twitter.com/massdot
www.facebook.com/massdotinfo
Each station will feature passenger amenities including weather protection,
pre-board fare collection, bicycle storage, real-time schedule information,
lighting for safety, and more, as depicted in this sample rendering.
2
Silver Line Gateway | SPRING 2014