Press conference about Monthly Crisis Support Act, 14-day MBTA Blue Line diversion & COVID-19 updates | May 11, 2020

Tune in at 3pm every weekday on our Government Channel or Facebook page for an update from city officials. Past updates can be found by clicking here. At 2pm & 8pm we are also airing Gov. Baker’s press conferences.

See other COVID-19 related posts by clicking here.
See our running list of announcements for Lynn by visiting bit.ly/LynnCOVID19.

The legislation would send a monthly $2,000 check to people who make less than $120,000. Married couples who filed taxes jointly would receive $4,000 & there would also be $2,000 provided for each child up to three.

The payments would be retroactive to March and last until three months after the public health emergency is over. The legislation would also bar debt collectors from taking the payments, and would deliver them regardless of whether people have a Social Security number or filed taxes last year.

We were able to obtain a copy of the press conference from Sen. Markey’s team, and you can watch the full press conference from our website below.

Northeast Legal Aid has more than 25 lawyers and other advocates ready to help low income individuals seeking to file unemployment applications. For assistance, please call 978-458-1465 between 9:00AM and 1:00PM, Monday-Friday or go to www.northeastlegalaid.org

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  As of Sunday night, DPH reported a total of 77,793 cases of COVID-19. The state has now confirmed a total of 4,979 deaths from the virus.

• Governor Baker’s latest extension of his essential work order and stay-at-home advisory is due to expire next Monday, May 18th.
• The reopening advisory panel led by Lt. Governor Karyn Polito has been busy meeting virtually with people from various industries to try to establish the framework for a safe reopening.
• Although Governor Baker has eased restrictions on some retailers, he has also stressed that May 18 is merely a deadline for the task force to make recommendations and that he will not allow anything to reopen unless the data tell him it is safe.
• The Governor has said repeatedly that he wants to see consistent positive trends out of key data points, including the number of new cases, the percentage of tests that come back positive, the number of people being treated for the virus in Massachusetts hospitals and the number of deaths the virus causes.
• The Senate on Thursday passed a short-term borrowing bill to bridge the impending gap in state revenues, and also approved a remote voting system to facilitate a final vote on the bill, which may come this week.
• The bill has already been engrossed the House and they are expected to enact it on Wednesday during a virtual formal session.
• The House and Senate both plan to meet again on Monday at 11am for informal sessions.

The Lynn Public Health Department has confirmed that as of today, the number of confirmed positive COVID-19 cases has risen to 2,177, 592 have recovered, and 75 Lynn residents have died.

We will continue to provide regular updates on COVID-19 through the City website (www.lynnma.gov), social media, and the Smart 911 emergency notification system (sign up at www.smart911.com).

MBTA: 14-Day Blue Line diversion from May 18-May 31

All-day weekday and weekend diversion from Bowdoin to Airport from Monday, May 18 through Sunday, May 31. Shuttle buses will be provided.

BOSTON – With the goal of expediting safety and reliability improvements through a focus on core infrastructure investments, the MBTA today announced a fourteen-day full closure of the Blue Line between Bowdoin and Airport Stations beginning Monday, May 18, to allow for accelerated track and infrastructure work to take place. During this accelerated work, shuttle buses will replace service between Bowdoin and Airport Stations for fourteen consecutive days, including both weekdays and weekends, beginning at the start of service May 18 through the end of service on Sunday, May 31.

“The work accomplished during this closure will lead to numerous benefits, including increased train speeds, shorter travel times, and a more reliable service schedule,” said MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak. “Our main focus continues to be safety, especially during the COVID-19 situation, with the MBTA’s shuttle plan including measures that promote social distancing. We know these diversions can be an inconvenience, but the service suspension allows us expedite critical track and tunnel infrastructure work and remove the restrictions that currently limit train speeds.”

This work comes as part of the MBTA’s plan to quicken the pace of infrastructure projects in 2020 and the MBTA is assessing whether other projects can be further accelerated. This Blue Line work was previously scheduled to be accomplished through a series of weekend diversions later this year, and doing the work now allows its completion at a time when both transit ridership and traffic on the roadways that shuttle buses will use is much lower than it is likely to be by the fall. That said, the MBTA recognizes that many essential riders do continue to use the Blue Line and that ridership may rise as the Commonwealth begins to consider reopening opportunities within the coming weeks. The MBTA’s shuttle plan includes measures to promote social distancing that protect MBTA workers and riders, and the MBTA will carefully monitor ridership levels on the shuttle buses, adjusting service levels if needed.

In compliance with the Executive Order that went into effect on May 6, MBTA customers must wear face coverings while onboard shuttle buses. Additionally, in an effort to promote social distancing efforts and protect the health and safety of MBTA riders and bus operators, ridership on shuttle buses will be limited. The MBTA will also operate additional shuttle buses than originally planned with a robust fleet of shuttles on standby to accommodate ridership demands as needed.

Blue Line construction is part of the MBTA’s $8 billion Building a Better T program to replace subway fleets, modernize stations, and upgrade tracks, signals, and switches. In 2019, the MBTA executed a plan to expedite projects for customers, delivering projects 2.2 years faster than originally planned across the Red, Orange, and Green Lines. Building off of this accelerated work, the MBTA launched its 2020 Infrastructure Acceleration Plan in February 2020 aimed at improving service, safety, and reliability on faster timelines through temporary shutdowns and diversions in service for several subway lines and the Commuter Rail. The 2020 Plan will deliver projects eight years faster than originally planned, and will result in track replacement, upgraded intersections, and station improvements.

Shuttle Bus Information:

Due to the road geography around most Blue Line stations within the diversion limits, accessible shuttle buses will stop at stations between Bowdoin and Airport in a loop configuration. Buses will travel from Bowdoin to Maverick to Airport to Maverick again to Aquarium to State to Government Center before returning to Bowdoin to repeat the loop.

In an effort to save time and expedite trips for essential riders, an express shuttle bus will operate between Airport and Government Center that makes select stops. Customers seeking the express bus should see station personnel and/or station signage for more information and pick-up/drop-off areas.

More Information about The Work:

Work accomplished during this fourteen-day shutdown builds off of track replacement work that took place at Bowdoin during last fall’s weekend diversions as part of the 2019 capital acceleration plan. This current work includes:

• The installation of a new truck pad near Airport Station;
• Track replacement work along the Blue Line that will remove a long-standing speed restriction between Maverick and Aquarium, effectively reducing trip times by up to fifty-one seconds between Airport and Maverick (one way);
• Harbor tunnel leak mitigation and drainage work between Maverick and Aquarium that will reduce water-/leak-related service delays, improving reliability;
• Fire standpipe relocation between Maverick and Aquarium.

Accomplishing this work during fourteen consecutive days allows this work to be finished over two months sooner than previously planned. Sections of track between Bowdoin and Airport are also currently being scheduled to close in August 2020 for additional work on harbor tunnel improvements.

Following track work, the MBTA typically implements speed restrictions as a safety precaution, and customers should expect these to last for several days while the T monitors the proper settlement and consolidation of new track and stone ballast. Speed restrictions are lifted once engineers have confirmed proper settlement has occurred.

For more information, please visit mbta.com/BLwork, www.mbta.com/BBT2020, or connect with the T on Twitter @MBTA, Facebook /TheMBTA, or Instagram @theMBTA.