By Gabriel O’Hara Salini
Boston University Statehouse Program
Boston Business Journal
March 24, 2025
The MBTA’s plan to build a new tunnel for construction hi-rail vehicles near Alewife Red Line station is under fire from Cambridge residents, who argue the project would be a health hazard to local communities due to asbestos found in the soil.
The MBTA announced last September it would build new access points for maintenance vehicles near the west side of the Red Line by 2028 to help shorten maintenance times and improve operations. The nearest maintenance access point now is at Charles/MGH station, according to MBTA General Manager and CEO Phillip Eng.
The hi-rail vehicles used for maintenance use both tires and retractable train wheels. To work on the northern part of the line they must drive on Red Line tracks from Downtown Boston through Cambridge, leading to station closures and delays.
The project would result in fewer Red Line shutdowns, faster commutes, lower maintenance costs and improved reliability, the MBTA says.
The new access tunnel’s proposed site is next to Russell field, near the Alewife Red Line station. But Joseph Rigney, tunnel engineer at Delve Underground and the engineer on the project, said that “the constraints on the site obviously are the contaminated asbestos soil and the privately owned land.”
Tests carried out in June of 2024 found asbestos fibers in 56 of 148 soil samples at the site. Forty-six samples contained below 1% asbestos. However, the highest was 1.92%, leading the site to be classified as asbestos contaminated. Asbestos is a known carcinogen.
A “tent and vent” asbestos removal option is being considered for the project, but alternatives, such as misting, are also being explored.
Tenting and venting is a method by which a worksite is enclosed to stop gases, debris and dust from leaving the site while using a ventilation system to remove harmful gases from the environment.
Constructors will have the final say on how to deal with potentially harmful debris, Rigney said.
The Cambridge asbestos protection ordinance states that construction sites in an area with asbestos must erect a structure maintained at partial vacuum sufficient to contain all fugitive dust, effectively asking for tent and vent to be used.
“The contractor should not have the final word on tenting and venting,” said Diane Martin, a Cambridge resident at an MBTA meeting Tuesday. “This is a safety issue that impacts residents, and we should have a say in this decision.”
Other residents echoed her thoughts and asked the project be moved to guarantee the safety of locals.
“It’s just insane that we’re even talking about building in asbestos, not following Cambridge ordinances, not planting trees in the right amount and avoiding other laws about wetlands,” said resident Martin Bakal.
Rigney said safety would be guaranteed at all costs, however.
“We do want to do what’s best at the end of the day — it’s about making sure that asbestos is not released into the air,” Rigney said. “If we do trigger an alarm at 0.0078, or above, the construction will stop immediately.”
The Massachusetts Department of Labor Standards allows a limit of 0.01 asbestos fibers per cubic centimeter in a work environment before operations must stop.
When asked about the possibility of building on other sites, Rigney said all other potential entry points are being used to park trains at night, which prevents construction vehicles from entering the tunnels during off hours.
Residents and elected officials argued the selection of the site was made without community input.
“There’s a concern in the community that community members and frankly, electeds, people like me, were sort of brought in late, after you’d already had your own internal deliberations about where to put this thing,” Rep. David M. Rogers, D-Cambridge, said. “Why weren’t community members involved earlier, when you were still in exploring where to put this?”
The lack of engagement with the community prior to choosing the site has led some residents to lose trust in the MBTA.
“You can’t be trusted, and we’re not going to trust you with thousands of children’s lives. This is just …the site never should have been considered,” said resident Charles Teague. “You talk about construction risk. We don’t care about your construction risk. We care about people.”