Floating Slab Replacement, Spring 2019
Updated on March 11, 2019
We're replacing floating slabs on weekends between Harvard and Alewife stations on the Red Line.
The concrete is near the end of its useful life, and some slabs have deteriorated, forcing us to restrict train speeds for safety. The track is still safe, and we’re fixing defects preventatively so we don’t have to further restrict train speeds, or stop running trains on that section entirely.
On the weekends we do this work, our teams are demolishing the old slabs, placing new rebar, and pouring new concrete. We wish we could do this at night without disrupting service, but the concrete needs more time to set.
We're continuing weekend work through April 28, 2019. By then, we’ll be more than halfway done with this project. There will be another block of weekend shuttles later this year. We’ll give you dates as soon as we have them.
You can take a closer look at the process in the photo gallery.
Old floating slab
Old floating slab
Closeup of a tie
Closeup of an old floating slab, showing deterioation
An old slab has been removed
A crew places new rebar
Concrete poured for a new floating slab
Building a Better T
As part of our $9.6 billion, 5-year capital investment plan, we're renovating stations, modernizing fare collection systems, upgrading services for our buses, subways, and ferries, and improving the accessibility of the entire system.
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Building a Better T
As part of our $9.6 billion, 5-year capital investment plan, we're renovating stations, modernizing fare collection systems, upgrading services for our buses, subways, and ferries, and improving the accessibility of the entire system.