Construction to Break Ground on Salem’s New MBTA Intermodal Station

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) announced it will close its Salem rail station for more than one year as a complex renovation project is underway. As reported by Boston.com, the MBTA Salem station parking lot will be replaced with a $37 million facility, a five-level parking garage with up to 700 spaces and a pedestrian bridge from Washington Street.

The station will be closed for commuters, residents and tourists at the end of the day on July 19, with construction slated to break ground the next day.

With a completion date tentatively set for October 2014, the new MBTA project in Salem was designed by Fennick McCredie Architecture of Boston and will be built by Consigli Construction Company, Inc. According to the source, the new Intermodal Station will also feature an enclosed waiting area, two bike cages and a so-called “kiss and ride” area where cars drop off commuters or pick them up along Bridge Street.

The station will have only one vehicle entrance and exit—so no change from the existing configuration—but the new traffic signal at the entrance on Bridge Street is expected to improve traffic flow.

Rendering credits to Fennick McCredie Architecture