View source for Lechmere station

{{short description|Light rail station in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{good article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox station
 | name=Lechmere
 | style=MBTA
 | style2=Green
 | image=Lechmere MBTA Green Line Station, May 2025.jpg
 | image_caption=A southbound train arriving at Lechmere station in May 2025
 | alt=A light rail train at an elevated station in an urban area
 | address=3 North First Street
 | borough=[[East Cambridge, Massachusetts|East Cambridge]], [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]]
 | coordinates = {{coord|42.37125|-71.07610|display=inline,title|type:railwaystation}}
 | connections={{ric|MBTA|Bus|name=y}}: {{MBTA bus links|Lechmere}}<br />{{bus icon}} {{MBTA other buses|Lechmere}}
 | platform=1 [[island platform]]
 | tracks=2
 | bicycle=254 spaces
 | passengers=5,697 boardings (weekday average)<ref name=fy2019counts>{{cite web |url=https://mbta-massdot.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/mbta-ridership-guide |title=A Guide to Ridership Data |publisher=MassDOT/MBTA Office of Performance Management and Innovation |date=June 22, 2020 |page=9}}</ref>
 | pass_year=FY2019
 | opened=July 10, 1922
 | rebuilt=May 24, 2020–March 21, 2022 
 | accessible=Yes
 | services={{Adjacent stations|system=MBTA|line=Green
|type1=D|left1=Union Square|to-left1=Union Square|right1=Science Park|to-right=Riverside
|type2=E|left2=East Somerville|to-left2=Medford/Tufts|right2=Science Park|to-right2=Heath Street|note-mid2=
}}
 | other_services2_header = Former services
 | other_services2_collapsible = yes
 | other_services2={{Adjacent stations|system=MBTA
  |line1=Green|type1=B|right1=Science Park|to-right1=Boston College|left1=|note-mid1=Cut back in 1980
  |line2=Green|type2=C|right2=Science Park|to-right2=Cleveland Circle|left2=|note-mid2=Cut back in 1981
  |line3=Green|type3=E|right3=Science Park|to-right3=Heath Street|left3=Union Square|to-left3=Union Square|note-mid3=March–August 2022
}}
 | mapframe = yes
 | mapframe-marker-color = #{{rcr|MBTA|Green}}
 | mapframe-marker = rail-light
 | mapframe-zoom = 14
}}

'''Lechmere station''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|iː|tʃ|m|ɪr}} {{respell|LEECH|meer}}) is a [[Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority]] (MBTA) [[Green Line (MBTA)|Green Line]] [[light rail]] station in [[Lechmere Square]] in [[East Cambridge, Massachusetts]]. It is located on the east side of [[Massachusetts Route 28|Monsignor O'Brien Highway]] near First Street, adjacent to the [[North Point (Cambridge, Massachusetts)|NorthPoint]] development. The [[accessible]] elevated station has a single [[island platform]], with headhouses at both ends. It opened on March 21, 2022, as part of the [[Green Line Extension]] (GLX). Lechmere station is served by Green Line [[Green Line D branch|D branch]] and  [[Green Line E branch|E branch]] service.

The first transit in East Cambridge was a station on the [[Boston and Lowell Railroad]], which served the neighborhood from the mid-19th century to 1927. [[Horse-drawn tram|Horsecar]] service through Lechmere Square began around 1861, using the [[Craigie Bridge]] to reach Boston, and was electrified in the 1890s. The [[Lechmere Viaduct]] was opened in 1912 with an incline to Lechmere Square, allowing streetcars from lines on Cambridge Street and Bridge Street to reach the [[Tremont Street subway]].

In 1922, the [[Boston Elevated Railway]] opened a prepayment transfer station at Lechmere, separating the surface streetcars from the subway routes. This surface station had a loop for subway cars, with cross-platform transfers to the surface routes, and a small yard inside the loop. The surface streetcars were replaced by [[Trolleybuses in Greater Boston|trolleybuses]] and later diesel buses in the 1930s to 1960s, while the subway routes became the Green Line in 1965.

Lechmere was the northern terminus of subway service for a century. Extensions northwest from Lechmere station were proposed in the 1920s, though planning did not begin until the early 21st century. A new elevated Lechmere station was to be built as part of the NorthPoint development, but it was instead added to GLX planning in 2007. The MBTA agreed in 2012 to open the station by 2017, and a construction contract was awarded in 2013. Cost increases triggered a wholesale reevaluation of the GLX project in 2015. A scaled-down station design was released in 2016, with a design and construction contract issued in 2017. The surface station was closed on May 24, 2020, for Green Line Extension construction; the busways at the old station remained open as a transfer point between [[MBTA bus]] routes and Lechmere–{{bts|North Station|Green}} shuttle buses until the new station opened.

==Station design==
[[File:North entrance to Lechmere station north headhouse, March 2022.JPG|thumb|left|The north headhouse in March 2022|alt=A ground-level entrance to an elevated railway station]]
Lechmere station is located on the east side of [[Massachusetts Route 28|O'Brien Highway]] at Lechmere Square, adjacent to the [[North Point (Cambridge, Massachusetts)|North Point]] development. The two-track Green Line viaduct runs approximately southeast–northwest through the station area. The station has a single curved [[island platform]], {{convert|355|feet}} long and {{convert|32-35|feet}} wide, located over the block between East Street and North First Street.<ref name=nov2019 />

The platform is {{convert|8|in}} high for accessible boarding on current light rail vehicles (LRVs) and can be raised to {{convert|14|in}} for level boarding with Type 9 and future Type 10 LRVs. While the other GLX stations have {{convert|225|feet|adj=on}}-long platforms with provisions for extension, the platform at Lechmere was built to its maximum length because it would be more difficult to extend in the future.<ref name="techprov">{{Cite web |date=December 11, 2017 |title=Execution Version: Volume 2: Technical Provisions |url=https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/projects/glx/contract/glx-technical-provisions.pdf |website=MBTA Contract No. E22CN07: Green Line Extension Design Build Project |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}}</ref>{{rp|12.1{{hyphen}}5}} A canopy covers the full length of the platform; it is two spans wide, rather than the single span used on the narrower platforms at the other GLX stations.<ref name=nov2019 /><ref name=nov20>{{cite web |url=https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/fmcb-meeting-docs/2017/november/2017-11-20-fmcb-glx-update.pdf |title=GLX Program Update |date=November 20, 2017 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}}</ref>{{rp|29}}

Headhouses are located north of North First Street and south of East Street. The north headhouse has [[redundant elevator|two elevators]] and stairs to the platform; the south headhouse has one elevator and stairs.<ref name=nov2019 /> A bus loop for [[MBTA bus]] routes {{MBTA bus links|Lechmere|yes}} is located off Water Street north of the north headhouse. A [[bike station]] between the headhouses has space for 182 bicycles; racks for 72 additional bicycles are located next to the north headhouse.<ref name=nov2019 /> Public artwork at the station includes ''Field Notes'' by Randall Thurston – a set of panels on the elevator shafts depicting birds and vines. Some panels on station signs have artwork of poetry overlaid with images of birds; others have historical images and interpretive text.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mass.gov/doc/glx-virtual-cwg-meeting-presentation-february-2-2021/download |title=GLX Community Working Group Monthly Meeting #39 |date=February 2, 2021 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}}</ref>

==History==
===East Cambridge station===
[[File:East Cambridge station, 1905.JPG|thumb|left|East Cambridge station in 1905|alt=A two-story wooden railway station in an urban area]]
The [[Boston and Lowell Railroad]] (B&L) opened between its namesake cities in 1835. Passenger service initially ran express between the two cities, but local stops were soon added.<ref name=steelways>{{cite book |title=Steelways of New England |year=1946 |first=Alvin Fay |last=Harlow |publisher=Creative Age Press |pages=92–93}}</ref> One of the first was '''East Cambridge'''{{efn|Also originally called East Cambridge Gates.<ref name=knight /> "Gates", which was a suffix for several B&L stations, denoted the [[crossing gates]] at the grade crossing of the Prison Point Bridge.<ref name=steelways />}} which was located near the Prison Point Bridge by 1846.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=goUBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA134 |page=134 |title=The Boston almanac for the year 1847 |year=1847 |first=S.N. |last=Dickinson |publisher=B.B. Mussey and Thomas Groom |via=Google Books}}</ref><ref name=judges /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://collections.leventhalmap.org/search/commonwealth:1257bc83d |title=Map of the city of Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts |year=1854 |first=Henry Francis |last=Walling |publisher=George L. Dix}}</ref><ref name=knight>{{cite web |url=https://www.winchester.us/DocumentCenter/View/6725/Four-Railroad-Depots |title=The Evolution of Winchester's Four Railroad Depots |first=Ellen |last=Knight |date=2021 |publisher=Town of Winchester}}</ref> By 1865, it was moved north to the foot of Third Street, closer to development on Dog Island (East Cambridge).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://id.lib.harvard.edu/curiosity/scanned-maps/44-990094789400203941 |title=Map of the City of Cambridge for 1865 |year=1865 |first=J.G. |last=Chase |publisher=[[John Henry Bufford]]}}</ref><ref name=judges /> The station was popular with employees from Somerville commuting to the factories of East Cambridge; among its more famous users was [[Benjamin Butler]].<ref name=judges>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36889678/the_boston_globe/ |title=Judges, Lawyers, Criminals Have Tramped in and Out of This Station |newspaper=Boston Daily Globe |date=April 30, 1905 |page=60 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{open access}}</ref> In 1870, the [[Lexington Branch]] was routed over the B&L east of [[Somerville Junction]], increasing service to Somerville Junction, [[Gilman Square station#History|Winter Hill]], [[East Somerville station#History|Milk Row]], and East Cambridge stations. The [[Central Massachusetts Railroad]] began operations in 1881 with the Lexington Branch and B&L as its Boston entry.<ref name=150years>{{cite book |title=Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years |last1=Humphrey |first1=Thomas J.|last2=Clark |first2=Norton D. |publisher=Boston Street Railway Association |year=1985 |isbn=9780685412947 |page=55}}</ref><ref name=sne>{{cite book |title=The Rail Lines of Southern New England |edition=2 |last=Karr |first=Ronald Dale |publisher=Branch Line Press |year=2017 |isbn=9780942147124 |page=278}}</ref> The [[Fitchburg Railroad]] also had an East Cambridge station (primarily served by [[Lexington Branch]] trains) located at Linwood Street, just over the Somerville border, in the mid-19th century.<ref>{{citation |title=Map of the city of Boston and immediate neighborhood : from original surveys |title-link=:commons:File:1852 Map of the city of Boston and immediate neighborhood.jpg |first=Henry |last=McIntyre |year=1852 |via=Wikimedia Commons}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://wardmapsgifts.com/products/cambridge-massachusetts-1865 |title=Map of the City of Cambridge for 1865 |year=1865 |first=J.G. |last=Chase |publisher=[[John Henry Bufford]] |via=Ward Maps}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I1o3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA16 |title=ABC Pathfinder Railway Guide |page=16 |year=1858 |publisher=New England Railway Publishing Company |via=Google Books}}</ref>

In 1926, the [[Boston and Maine Railroad]] (B&M), which had acquired the B&L in 1887, began work on [[North Station]] plus an expansion of its freight yards. The B&M proposed to abandon East Cambridge station in order to realign the ex-B&L into the new station.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36889785/the_boston_globe/ |title=Protest Giving Up Three Stations |date=November 10, 1926 |newspaper=Boston Daily Globe |page=14 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{open access}}</ref> Although most inner stations were largely replaced by streetcars and automobiles at this time, East Cambridge was still used by both industrial workers and by those headed to the [[Middlesex County Courthouse (Massachusetts)|Middlesex County Courthouse]], and the proposed closure was locally opposed.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36890046/the_boston_globe/ |title=Oppose B. & M. Abandonment |date=January 11, 1927 |newspaper=Boston Daily Globe |page=10 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{open access}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36890070/the_boston_globe/ |title=Oppose Closing East Cambridge Station |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=January 12, 1927 |page=8 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{open access}}</ref> The Public Utilities Commission approved the closure of East Cambridge and nearby [[East Somerville station#History|Prospect Hill]] in March 1927; one train was rescheduled for ten minutes earlier to accommodate court attendees.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36839725/the_boston_globe/ |title=Five B. & M. Stations Will Be Abandoned |newspaper=Boston Daily Globe |date=March 16, 1927 |via=Newspapers.com}} ([https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36839752/the_boston_globe/ second page]) {{open access}}</ref> The stations closed at some point between then and May 17, when trains were rerouted over the new alignment.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52368553/the-boston-globe/ |title=New Boston & Maine Line to be Used Sunday |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=May 17, 1927 |page=8 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref> The former alignment remained in use for freight for decades thereafter. A portion of the abandoned embankment near the former station location dates from between 1855 and 1868.<ref>{{cite web |url={{MACRIS|CAM.9020}} |title=Boston and Lowell Railroad Retaining Wall |first=John J. |last=Daly |publisher= Massachusetts Historical Commission |via=Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System}}</ref>
{{clear left}}

===Surface station===
====Early streetcar service====
[[File:Passenger shelter at Lechmere Square, January 1915.jpg|thumb|right|Shelter for outbound Bridge Street streetcars at Lechmere Square in 1915|alt=A wooden shelter next to a streetcar line in an urban area]]
The [[Cambridge Railroad]] was granted permission in 1860 to run [[Horse-drawn tram|horsecar]] tracks over the [[Craigie Bridge]] from East Cambridge to Boston.<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 3, 1860 |title=[Untitled] |page=4 |work=Boston Evening Transcript |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/82963346/boston-evening-transcript/ |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96691057/boston-evening-transcript/ |title=Cambridge Horse Railroad |newspaper=Boston Evening Transcript |date=August 11, 1860 |page=2 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref name="endoftheend">{{Cite magazine |last=Clarke |first=Bradley H. |date=May 2020 |title=Lechmere Station – The End of the End |magazine=Rollsign |publisher=Boston Street Railway Association |volume=57 |issue=5/6}}</ref>{{rp|14}} Service began from [[Harvard Square]] along Cambridge Street to [[Lechmere Square]] around 1861, and from Lechmere Square over the bridge into Boston by 1862.<ref name=endoftheend />{{rp|14}}<ref name="busreport">{{Humphrey Bus Report}}</ref>{{rp|202}}<ref>{{cite book |title=Russell's horse railroad guide for Boston and vicinity |url=https://archive.org/details/russellshorserai00samu/page/10/mode/2up |pages=9, 10 |first=Benjamin B. |last=Russell |date=May 1862 |publisher=[Boston] Benj. B. Russell |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> In 1864, the company built a line from [[Union Square (Somerville)|Union Square in Somerville]] along Somerville Avenue and [[Massachusetts Route 28|Bridge Street]] to the existing tracks at Lechmere Square, allowing through service from Elm Street (now [[Davis Square]]) to Boston.<ref name=busreport />{{rp|205}} The Cambridge Street line was converted to electric streetcar service by Cambridge Railroad successor [[West End Street Railway]] in 1891; the Somerville Avenue line and an 1888-built line to Davis Square via Highland Avenue were electrified and extended to Clarendon Hill in 1893–1895.<ref name=busreport />{{rp|202, 205}}

The West End was leased to the [[Boston Elevated Railway]] (BERy) in 1897.<ref name="century" />{{rp|35}} The three streetcar lines running through Lechmere Square began running into the [[Tremont Street subway]] via the [[Canal Street incline]] upon its September 3, 1898, opening.<ref name=endoftheend />{{rp|3}} The trip from Lechmere Point over the bridge was slow and prone to delays, causing congestion in the subway.<ref name=endoftheend />{{rp|5}} Construction of the [[Lechmere Viaduct]] and [[Causeway Street Elevated]] began in 1907 to provide the streetcar routes a more direct route into the subway. The BERy considered building a station at Lechmere Square at the north end of the viaduct but rejected the idea in 1911.<ref name=endoftheend />{{rp|6}} The viaduct opened on June 1, 1912, though some local streetcar lines continued to use the Charles River Dam Bridge.<ref name="netransit">{{NETransit}}</ref><ref name=endoftheend />{{rp|7}}<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96891190/the-boston-globe/ |title=New Line to Marine Park |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=June 12, 1914 |page=15 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The incline at the north end of the viaduct, which connected to the surface streetcar tracks, occupied half the block between Lechmere Square and Second Street.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://collections.leventhalmap.org/search/commonwealth:tt44pw49q |title=Atlas of the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts : from actual surveys and official plans |first1=George W. |last1=Bromley |first2=Walter S. |last2=Bromley |year=1916 |publisher=G.W. Bromley & Co. |chapter=Plate 11}}</ref>

====Lechmere station====
[[File:Lechmere station under construction, March 1922.jpg|thumb|left|The station under construction in March 1922|alt=Overhead view of a construction site with streetcar tracks running in several directions]]
Although it substantially reduced travel times between Lechmere and North Station, the Lechmere Viaduct and Causeway Street Elevated soon became insufficient for the service the BERy needed. Unlike the [[Green Line B branch|Commonwealth Avenue]], [[Green Line C branch|Beacon Street]], and [[Green Line E branch|Huntington Avenue]] lines, the Cambridge Street and Bridge Street lines did not have dedicated medians, so automobile traffic caused delays on the surface lines, which in turn propagated into the subway. Additional capacity in the subway was also needed – more than could be provided by small streetcars suitable for operation in mixed traffic.<ref name=endoftheend />{{rp|5}}

In 1917, transit consultant John A. Beeler was hired by the Massachusetts Public Service Commission to analyze the struggling BERy. Among Beeler's recommendations was for the Tremont Street Subway to be converted to a [[third rail]] [[rapid transit]] service, with surface lines terminating at transfer stations (as had been done with the [[Orange Line (MBTA)|Main Line El]] and [[Cambridge–Dorchester line]]). He proposed that the northern transfer station be at Lechmere Square, with elevated rapid transit platforms and surface loops for streetcars.<ref name=endoftheend />{{rp|6}}

In September 1921, the BERy applied to the [[Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities|Massachusetts Public Utilities Commission]] (PUC), successor to the Public Service Commission, for authority to build transfer stations at Lechmere Square and [[Babcock Street station#History|Braves Field]].{{efn|By 1922, the western terminal proposal had been relocated to [[Harvard Avenue station|Linden Street]] in Allston.<ref name=danaoutlines /> It was never built due to public objection.<ref name=century>{{cite book |title=Tremont Street Subway: A Century of Public Service |last1=Clarke |first1=Bradley H. |last2=Cummings |first2=O.R. |year=1997 |publisher=Boston Street Railway Association |isbn=0938315048 }}</ref>{{rp|59}}}} The Lechmere Square proposal included taking {{convert|73000|sqft}} of land by eminent domain.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96937781/the-boston-globe/ |title=For Braves Field and Lechmere Sq. |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=September 2, 1921 |page=16 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The city of Cambridge objected to the design, particularly the construction of a loop track on Third Street.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96938711/the-boston-globe/ |title=Hearing on Proposed "L" Station at Lechmere Sq |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=September 27, 1921 |page=7 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The PUC approved the proposal in November 1921, but the city sought an injunction to prevent construction of the Third Street track.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96938970/the-boston-globe/ |title=Cambridge to Seek to Enjoin Elevated |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=November 16, 1921 |page=4 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96938948/the-boston-globe/ |title="L" Wins Fight on Lechmere Station |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=November 4, 1921 |page=4 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The [[Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court]] upheld the BERy's position, allowing construction of the track, in May 1922 – by which time the construction of the rest of the terminal was already well underway.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52224671/the-boston-globe/ |title=Elevated Officials at the New Lechmere-Sq Terminal |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=April 14, 1922 |page=23 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96938935/the-boston-globe/ |title=Elevated Given Two Streets |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=May 20, 1922 |page=8 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
[[File:Lechmere station nearing completion, 1922.jpg|thumb|right|Lechmere station shortly before completion|alt=Overhead view of a surface streetcar terminal with wooden canopies in an urban square]]
The station occupied the triangular parcel bounded by Cambridge Street, Bridge Street, and Second Street. It had a [[balloon loop]] for subway trains (which were still made of streetcars, rather than true rapid transit cars), with [[cross-platform transfer]]s between streetcars and subway trains. Terminating streetcars used a pair of tracks off Cambridge Street, with a covered platform for passengers to then wait for subway trains. Streetcars then looped under the viaduct at Lechmere Square and picked up passengers using two tracks off Bridge Street, where a waiting room was located on the platform. Harvard-bound streetcars ran on a single track on Gore Street and Third Street to reach Cambridge Street; streetcars arriving from Somerville used the same Third Street track to reach Lechmere station. A second loop and several storage tracks were located inside the main subway train loop.<ref name=july10 /><ref name=endoftheend />{{rp|6}} Unlike the Boston portion of the subway system, which was funded by the cities and built by contractors, Lechmere station was funded and built entirely by the BERy at a cost of $100,000 ({{inflation|US-GDP|100000|1922|fmt=eq|r=-5}}).<ref name=century />{{rp|44}}<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.31951d00022379i&view=1up&seq=675 |title=How Boston Will Spend Her Four Million |date=April 1, 1922 |magazine=[[Electric Railway Journal]] |volume=59 |issue=13 |page=583}}</ref>

Lechmere station opened on July 10, 1922.<ref name=netransit /><ref name=july10 /> The new terminal was expected to be used by 24,000 passengers daily in each direction and to increase daily seated capacity through the subway by 8,754 passengers.<ref name=danaoutlines>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96936457/the-boston-globe/ |title=Dana Outlines New Elevated Plan |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=June 26, 1922 |page=10 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/cooperation1519bost/page/n19/mode/2up |date=June 1922 |title=More Rapid Transit |volume=1 |issue=6 |publisher=Boston Elevated Railway |magazine=Co-operation}}</ref> Initial subway service to Lechmere was a shuttle service to [[Pleasant Street station (BERy)|Pleasant Street]], which was intended as a temporary terminal until a more suitable western terminal could be found.<ref name=july10>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52267267/the-boston-globe/ |title=New Lechmere Sq Transfer Station, Open for L Traffic |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=July 10, 1922 |page=9 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref> Service ran with three-car trains every three minutes at peak and two-car trains every four minutes at other times.<ref name=july10 /> The forced transfer was unpopular with some riders who formerly had a one-seat ride to downtown Boston.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52226508/the-boston-globe/ |title=Somerville |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=March 30, 1923 |page=8 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref>

====Modifications and service changes====
On January 2, 1923, some off-peak trips were extended through the [[Boylston Street Subway]] to the surface station at {{bts|Kenmore}}; all-day service began on October 10.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52214396/the-boston-globe/ |title=Large Gains Shown by Elevated Road |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=December 17, 1922 |page=7 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52220671/the-boston-globe/ |title=Lechmere-Kenmore Train Service All Day |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=October 5, 1923 |page=10 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref> Most trips were extended along the [[Green Line C branch|Beacon Street line]] to {{bts|Washington Square}} on December 14, 1929.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52221048/the-boston-globe/ |title=Added "L" Service on Beacon-St Line |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=December 13, 1929 |page=19 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref> The Washington Street service was cut back to Kenmore in June 1930 but resumed that September.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52222222/the-boston-globe/ |title=Several Changes in "L" Service Effective Today |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=June 7, 1930 |page=9 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52226295/the-boston-globe/ |title=Crash of Trolleys Blocks Governor Sq |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=July 25, 1930 |page=8 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref> On February 7, 1931, all regular Commonwealth Avenue and Beacon Street service was extended from Park Street to Lechmere, and the existing shuttle services to Lechmere were replaced with Kenmore–Park Street shuttles.<ref name=formative>{{cite journal |title=Boston's Main Line El: The Formative Years 1879-1908 |first=George Jr. |last=Chasson |journal=Headlights |publisher=Electric Railroader's Association |volume=49 |year=1987 |editor=Lonto, Arthur J. |pages=25–26}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/38891556/the_boston_globe/ |title=Lake St, Reservoir, to Lechmere trains |date=February 5, 1931 |newspaper=Boston Globe |page=7 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref>
[[File:Outbound transfer station at Lechmere, September 1927.jpg|thumb|left|The outbound transfer canopy in 1927|alt=A large canopy over two streetcar tracks]]
In 1923, the BERy constructed a brick-and-steel canopy over the northbound (outbound) surface tracks.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/annualreporto19181925bost/page/n213/mode/2up |title=Annual Report of the Public Trustees of the Boston Elevated Railway for the Year Ending December 31, 1923 |page=10 |year=1924 |publisher=Boston Elevated Railway |via=Internet Archive}}</ref><ref name=endoftheend />{{rp|6}} On October 18, 1924, a prepayment entrance was added to the north end of this shelter. This allowed passengers boarding streetcars (who had not come from the subway) to wait in the station rather than at the next stop.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/annualreporto19181925bost/page/n247/mode/2up |title=Annual Report of the Public Trustees of the Boston Elevated Railway for the Year Ending December 31, 1924 |page=10 |year=1925 |publisher=Boston Elevated Railway |via=Internet Archive}}</ref><ref name=endoftheend />{{rp|14}} The final streetcars still using the Charles River Dam were [[Night service (public transport)|night cars]], which were routed onto the viaduct on July 26, 1924.<ref name=endoftheend />{{rp|7}} Bridge Street was widened into the [[Massachusetts Route 28#Realignment|Northern Artery]] in 1928. The widening was on the south side of the street – except at Lechmere Square, where it was diverted to the north to avoid the streetcar shelter. A track on Bridge Street next to the station, not used for revenue service since the night car diversion in 1924, was kept in service to store extra streetcars during events at the new [[Boston Garden]].<ref name=endoftheend />{{rp|7}}

Bus service to Lechmere station began on May 9, 1932.<ref name=endoftheend />{{rp|7}}<ref name=busreport />{{rp|55}}{{efn|A night bus route between [[Central Square, Cambridge|Central Square]] and [[Scollay Square]] via Lechmere Square began on May 4, 1930.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97026921/the-boston-globe/ |title="L" Asks for Right to Rawding Lines |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=April 25, 1930 |page=2 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97026822/the-boston-globe/ |title=New Nightly Car–Bus Service to Brighton |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=May 3, 1930 |page=7 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The route ran on Cambridge Street and did not enter Lechmere station.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/cooperation1119bost/page/124/mode/2up?view=theater |title=A Decade of the Bus on the "El": Part II: Bus Routes of the Last Five Years |magazine=Co-operation |date=August 1932 |page=124 |volume=11 |issue=8 |publisher=Boston Elevated Railway}}</ref>}} The first route ran to [[Central Square, Cambridge#Lafayette Square|Lafayette Square]] via Cambridge and Columbia streets, with a supplemental [[short turn]] route on Cambridge Street to Webster Street operated during peak hours. The outbound surface track used by Cambridge Street cars was rebuilt and set in concrete paving to accommodate buses.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/cooperation1119bost/page/82/mode/2up |title=Busway Through Lechmere Square |page=85 |magazine=Co-operation |date=June 1932 |volume=11 |issue=6 |publisher=Boston Elevated Railway}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/annualreportofpu32bost/page/16/mode/2up |title=Fourteenth Annual Report of the Public Trustees of the Boston Elevated Railway for the Year Ended December 31, 1932 |pages=13, 17 |publisher=Boston Elevated Railway |year=1933 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> A Lechmere–Arlington Center bus route was established on July 9, 1932.<ref name=busreport />{{rp|55}}<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/cooperation1119bost/page/100/mode/2up |title=A Long Bus Route |pages=103–104 |magazine=Co-operation |volume=11 |issue=7 |date=July 1932 |publisher=Boston Elevated Railway}}</ref> The Central Square route and its short turn variant were discontinued on October 14, 1933.<ref name=busreport />{{rp|55}} By that time, the Cambridge Street side of Lechmere station had also been paved, with one of the surface car tracks removed.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/cooperation1119bost/page/36/mode/2up |title=A Decade of the Bus on the "El": Part VI: Facilities for Passenger Interchange Between Motor Coaches and Rail Lines |page=37 |date=July 1933 |volume=12 |issue=3 |magazine=Co-operation |publisher=Boston Elevated Railway}}</ref>
[[File:Lechmere 1936 track layout.svg|thumb|right|Track layout of the station in 1936|alt=See caption.]]
The Harvard–Lechmere streetcar line was converted to trackless trolley ([[trolleybus]]) on April 11, 1936 – the first route in what would become [[Trolleybuses in Greater Boston|an extensive trackless trolley system]].<ref name=busreport />{{rp|202}}<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97094777/the-boston-globe/ |title=El Tries Out New Trolleys |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=April 11, 1936 |page=9 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> However, the tracks on Cambridge Street were kept for non-revenue use, as Commonwealth Avenue streetcars were stored at [[Bennett Street Carhouse]].<ref name=linesofthehub>{{cite book |title=Streetcar Lines of the Hub - The 1940s |last=Clarke |first=Bradley H. |year=2003 |publisher=Boston Street Railway Association |isbn=0938315056 |page=}}</ref>{{rp|104}} In 1937, part of the inbound shelter was bricked in as a waiting room.<ref>{{cite web |url={{MACRIS|CAM.914}} |title=Form F – Structure |date=April 1984 |author=Architectural Preservation Associates |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority |via=Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System}}</ref> The remaining portion of the Charles River Dam tracks was removed in the late 1930s.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://bostonintransit.com/collections/boston-elevated-railway-co-track-plans-1936/products/boston-elevated-railway-co-track-plans-1936-plate-16-boston-and-cambridge |title=Boston Elevated Railway Track Lengths of Surface Lines and Subway |chapter=Sheet 16 |date=December 31, 1936 |publisher=Boston Elevated Railway |via=Boston in Transit}}</ref><ref name=linesofthehub />{{rp|104}} Commonwealth Avenue line streetcars were transferred to the expanded Reservoir Carhouse on May 6, 1940, and the Cambridge Street tracks were abandoned.<ref name=linesofthehub />{{rp|115}} Most overnight storage of streetcars in the Lechmere yard also ended at that time, though it resumed from September 14, 1942, to late 1953.<ref name=endoftheend />{{rp|7}}

In 1940–41, the BERy reassigned its public-facing route numbers.<ref name=linesofthehub />{{rp|27}} The Harvard–Lechmere route was designated as [[69 (MBTA bus)|route 69]], Arlington Center–Lechmere as [[80 (MBTA bus)|route 80]], and the Clarendon Hill–Lechmere routes as {{MBTABus|87}} (via Somerville Avenue) and {{MBTABus|88}} (via Highland Avenue).<ref>{{citation |title=Boston Elevated Railway System Route Map |title-link=:commons:File:1942 Boston Elevated Railway system map.png |year=1942 |first=Richard F. |last=Lufkin |publisher=Boston Elevated Railway |via=Wikimedia Commons}}</ref> On September 3, 1941, the BERy began paving around the remaining surface car tracks at Lechmere station. This allowed for the conversion of routes 87 and 88 to trackless trolley on November 8, 1941.<ref name=linesofthehub />{{rp|137}} The surface tracks at Lechmere station were abandoned, leaving just the loop and yard tracks for subway service.<ref name=linesofthehub />{{rp|104}} The BERy opened a 325-space parking lot on the south side of Cambridge Street on April 23, 1941; it was enlarged to 358 spaces in 1950.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/annualreporto19361942bost/page/n271/mode/2up |title=Twenty-third Annual Report of the Public Trustees of the Boston Elevated Railway: Year Ended December 31, 1941 |page=24 |year=1942 |publisher=Boston Elevated Railway}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/annualreportofbo1950metr/page/10/mode/2up |page=10 |title=Fourth Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Metropolitan Transit Authority |year=1950 |publisher=Metropolitan Transit Authority}}</ref>
[[File:PCCs and trackless trolley at Lechmere - 1960 postcard.jpg|thumb|right|A trackless trolley loops under a subway train at Lechmere in 1960|alt=A trolleybus passing under a viaduct on which a train of streetcars is running]]
The Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) replaced the BERy in 1947.<ref name=linesofthehub />{{rp|17}} Although MTA management generally favored buses over trackless trolley, bus route 80 was converted to trackless trolley on September 12, 1953.<ref name=endoftheend />{{rp|8}} The MTA began charging for parking at its stations, including Lechmere, on November 2, 1953.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe/172415276/ |title=Parks Fill M.T.A. Lots Despite Fee |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=November 2, 1953 |pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe/172301842/ 7] |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/annualreportofbo1953metr/page/n12 |pages=5, 6 |title=Seventh Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Metropolitan Transit Authority |year=1954 |publisher=Metropolitan Transit Authority}}</ref> On November 3, 1961, midday service to Lechmere was replaced with a {{bts|Haymarket}}–Lechmere shuttle, with the Commonwealth Avenue and Beacon Street lines cut back to Park Street and {{bts|North Station|Green}} while the shuttle was running.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97231429/the-boston-globe/ |title=M.T.A. Shuttle To Lechmere |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=November 7, 1961 |page=12 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The [[Green Line D branch|Riverside Line]] (opened in 1959) was extended from {{bts|Park Street}} to Lechmere on November 25, 1961; the Commonwealth Avenue and Beacon Street lines were cut back at all times, while the shuttle was discontinued.<ref name=netransit /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97237839/the-boston-globe/ |title=M.T.A. to Change Service on 4 Lines |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=November 16, 1961 |page=50 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

On May 25, 1962, the MTA abandoned non-revenue tracks that connected the Canal Street Inline with Everett Shops (the agency's heavy maintenance facility) and Charlestown Neck Carhouse (where many maintenance railcars were stored). A ramp was built inside Lechmere Yard so that streetcars could be loaded onto trucks for transfer to Everett. Some work cars were also stored in Lechmere Yard.<ref name=endoftheend />{{rp|8}} Routes 69, 80, 87, and 88 were all converted from trackless trolley to diesel bus on March 31, 1963.<ref name=busreport />{{rp|201}}<ref name=endoftheend />{{rp|8}} In early 1964, the north end of the yard was paved. This allowed buses on routes 80, 87, and 88 to reach the inbound busway directly from Bridge Street, eliminating the jog on Third and Cambridge streets.<ref name=endoftheend />{{rp|8}}

====MBTA era====
The [[Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority]] (MBTA) replaced the MTA in August 1964. On August 26, 1965, the MBTA assigned color names to the rapid transit lines, with the Tremont Street Subway-based streetcar lines becoming the [[Green Line (MBTA)|Green Line]]. The western branches were assigned letters A through E in 1967. The Commonwealth Avenue line became the [[Green Line B branch|B branch]], the Beacon Street line the [[Green Line C branch|C branch]], and the Riverside Line the [[Green Line D branch|D branch]].<ref name=netransit /> After the 1964 opening of a loop at {{bts|Government Center}}, which gave the MBTA four downtown terminals for Green Line branches, the MBTA more frequently switched which lines ran to which downtown terminals to match passenger demands and other operational needs. The C branch was extended to Lechmere on March 25, 1967, joining the D branch. On March 25, 1974, the B branch was extended back to Lechmere and the D branch cut to North Station; for the next decade, the B, C, and D branches frequently were switched between Lechmere and other termini.<ref name=netransit />

The practice of routing inbound buses through Lechmere Yard was ended in the late 1970s, likely when the [[Boeing LRV]]s (which were larger and heavier than previous streetcars) began operating on the Green Line.<ref name=endoftheend />{{rp|8}} Around 1980, a new parking lot was opened on the north side of Bridge Street to allow for redevelopment of the old lot.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/annualreportmass9819mass/page/n37/mode/2up |title=Annual Report 1981 |year=1981 |page=28 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}}</ref> On January 2, 1983, for the first time in the station's history, trains from Huntington Avenue (the [[Green Line E branch|E branch]]) began serving Lechmere. They were extended from Park Street to Lechmere during rush hours and midday, with the D branch cut back to Government Center at those hours.<ref name=netransit /> On February 11, 1983, the E branch was shut down by snow for several days; a Government Center–Lechmere shuttle ran in its stead, joined by some D branch service on March 26.<ref name=netransit />
[[File:Trains at Lechmere station, August 2018.JPG|thumb|left|Green Line trains at Lechmere in 2018|alt=Light rail trains at a surface-level terminal]]
On January 20, 1984, a fire destroyed the wooden approach trestles to [[Charles River Bridge (Commuter Rail)|the North Station drawbridges]]. A temporary terminal for the [[Fitchburg Line]] and [[Lowell Line]]{{efn|The [[Newburyport/Rockport Line|Ipswich/Rockport Line]] originally used this terminal as well. However, it switched to a platform at [[Sullivan Square station]] on the Orange Line several weeks later to ease congestion on the Green Line.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97438765/the-boston-globe/ |title=MBTA revising commuting pattern for passengers from north of Boston |first=Chris |last=Chinlund |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=January 27, 1984 |pages=17, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97438703/the-boston-globe/ 19] |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The [[Haverhill Line|Merrimack Valley Line]] initially terminated at {{bts|Malden Center}}, then at {{bts|Oak Grove}} after February 15, and never used the temporary terminal.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97374446/the-boston-globe/ |title=MBTA reroutes commuters |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=February 16, 1984 |page=39 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>}} – with a large tent erected next to the tracks as a waiting room – was set up just north of the bridges.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97437884/the-boston-globe/ |title=Under the Big Top |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=January 25, 1984 |page=56 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>{{efn|The [[Lynch Family Skatepark]] now occupies this site.}} Riders were bused between the temporary terminal and Lechmere station, with free fares for inbound passengers at Lechmere.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97438459/the-boston-globe/ |title=What's in store for B&M riders |first=Paul |last=Langner |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=January 23, 1984 |pages=17, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97438477/the-boston-globe/ 18] |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> All peak Lechmere service was operated as Government Center–Lechmere shuttles to handle the load.<ref name=netransit /> North Station reopened on April 20, 1985, with no change to Green Line service.<ref name=netransit /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97438265/the-boston-globe/ |title=T rail service resumes at North Station |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=April 21, 1985 |first=Douglas S. |last=Crocket |pages=29, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97438275/the-boston-globe/ 30] |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

Revenue equipment was stored in Lechmere Yard beginning in December 1984. The ramp, largely disused after heavy maintenance shops at {{bts|Riverside}} opened in 1976, was removed in the late 1980s to make room for additional storage tracks.<ref name=endoftheend />{{rp|8}} From December 28, 1985, to July 25, 1986, additional shuttle service ran between Lechmere and Kenmore. (This provided the first direct peak service between Lechmere and much of the subway since January 1984.) Most E branch service resumed to Lechmere on July 26, 1986. The remaining Lechmere–Government Center shuttles were replaced with an extension of D branch service to Lechmere on June 21, 1997.<ref name=netransit /> Around 2000, [[wheelchair lift|portable lift]]s were added at Lechmere as a temporary [[accessibility]] measure, along with a wooden mini-high platform on the inbound side.<ref name=PMT>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120220063458/http://www.bostonmpo.org/bostonmpo/pmt-old/PMT-1.pdf |archive-date=February 20, 2012 |url=http://www.bostonmpo.org/bostonmpo/pmt-old/PMT-1.pdf |title=Executive Summary |work=Program of Mass Transportation |date=January 2004 |publisher=Boston Regional Metropolitan Planning Organization |page=2{{hyphen}}9}}</ref>

On June 25, 2004, service between Lechmere and North Station was suspended as the Causeway Street Elevated was removed, and the surface and elevated platforms at North Station were consolidated into a new underground "superstation". A Government Center–Lechmere shuttle bus was operated.<ref name=netransit /> Unlike during previous bus substitutions, which took place largely during evenings and weekends, bus operations at Lechmere were modified to accommodate the number of shuttle buses needed. The shuttle buses used the inbound busway, while regular bus service used only the outbound busway, with those buses operating in the reverse of the usual direction.<ref name=endoftheend />{{rp|10}} Green Line E branch service to Lechmere resumed on November 12, 2005, with buses returned to their previous routing at the station.<ref name="netransit" /><ref>{{cite press release |url=https://www.mbta.com/news/2005-11-04/effective-saturday-november-12th-green-line-service-lechmere-and-science-park |title=Effective Saturday, November 12th, Green Line Service To Lechmere and Science Park Stations To Resume |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority |date=November 4, 2005}}</ref>

Service past North Station was replaced with North Station–Lechmere buses from April 30 to November 4, 2011, as {{bts|Science Park}} was rebuilt.<ref name=netransit /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mbta.com/about_the_mbta/t_projects/default.asp?id=14747 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority |title=Science Park/West End Improvement Project |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120105030618/http://www.mbta.com/about_the_mbta/t_projects/default.asp?id=14747 |archive-date=January 5, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://archive.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/11/03/trolley_service_to_resume_as_project_ends/ |title=Trolley service to resume as project ends |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=November 3, 2011 |access-date=March 13, 2022}}</ref> The same bus routings as the 2004–05 closure were used. However, after the station reopened, buses continued to use only the outbound busway. This routing was deemed safer by the MBTA due to the fewer turns, though it was "extremely inconvenient to inbound passengers".<ref name=endoftheend />{{rp|10}}

{{Image frame|content={{Lechmere timeline}}|caption=Timeline of which subway services have terminated at Lechmere since 1922|align=left|mode=<code>scrollable</code>}}
{{clear}}

===Green Line Extension and new station===
====Early proposals====
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| caption = Map showing the 1926-proposed extensions northwest from Lechmere (at left)
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In June 1922, several weeks before Lechmere station opened, the BERy proposed three new radial subways. One was to run northwest from Lechmere through Somerville and South Medford.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 25, 1922 |title=Three New Subways Planned |page=71 |work=Boston Globe |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52404512/the-boston-globe/ |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> In 1924, the BERy indicated that Lechmere was "not fitted to be a permanent transfer station, and while being used as such must fail to satisfy", recommending an extension to a larger transfer station.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/annualreporto19181925bost/page/n217/mode/2up |page=14 |title=Annual Report of the Public Trustees of the Boston Elevated Railway for the Year ending December 31, 1923 |year=1924 |publisher=Boston Elevated Railway}}</ref> The Report on Improved Transportation Facilities, published by the Boston Division of Metropolitan Planning in 1926, recommended conversion of the Tremont Street subway to [[Maverick station|Maverick Square]]–[[Warren Street station (MBTA)|Warren Street, Brighton]] and Lechmere Square–[[Brigham Circle station|Brigham Circle, Roxbury]] rapid transit routes. Among the secondary priorities was an extension from Lechmere to North Cambridge, with several possible branches; it would have run in a dedicated median in the [[Massachusetts Route 28|Northern Artery]] from Lechmere to Winter Hill, alongside the B&M [[Lowell Line|Southern Division]] tracks to [[Somerville Junction station|Somerville Junction]], then followed the [[Fitchburg Cutoff]] to North Cambridge.<ref name="transplan">{{Cite web |last=Central Transportation Planning Staff |date=November 15, 1993 |title=The Transportation Plan for the Boston Region - Volume 2 |url=http://ntl.bts.gov/DOCS/boston.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010505072732/http://ntl.bts.gov/DOCS/boston.html |archive-date=May 5, 2001 |publisher=National Transportation Library}}</ref><ref name="1926report ">{{Cite book |title=Report on Improved Transportation Facilities in Boston |date=December 1926 |publisher=Division of Metropolitan Planning |pages=6, 7, 34, 35 |hdl=2027/mdp.39015049422689}}</ref> Variations on this plan were proposed several times during the 1930s, including subway extensions from {{bts|Haymarket}} or {{bts|Bowdoin}} to replace the Lechmere Viaduct.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 27, 1935 |title=Rapid Transit Project Urged |page=28 |work=Boston Globe |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/50893896/the-boston-globe/ |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=December 29, 1938 |title=Rapid Transit Line Proposed from Boston to Arlington |page=5 |work=Boston Globe |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83380860/the-boston-globe/ |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

In 1943, the state legislature appointed a commission headed by [[Arthur W. Coolidge]] to plan for the future of transit in the Boston region. The 1945 and 1947 reports from the Coolidge Commission recommended nine suburban rapid transit extensions – most similar to the 1926 plan – along existing railroad lines.<ref name=linesofthehub />{{rp|16}}<ref name="1945map">{{Citation |last1=Boston Elevated Railway |title=Air View: Present Rapid Transit System – Boston Elevated Railway and Proposed Extensions of Rapid Transit into Suburban Boston |date=April 1945 |last2=Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities |title-link=:commons:File:1945 BERy extensions map.jpg |via=Wikimedia Commons}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Lyons |first=Louis M. |date=April 29, 1945 |title=El on Railroad Lines Unified Transit Plan |pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83587536/the-boston-globe/ 14] |work=Boston Globe |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83587444/the-boston-globe/ |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The proposed extension from Lechmere to [[Woburn, Massachusetts|Woburn]] followed the same alignment as the 1926 plan, albeit using an extended elevated structure rather than a subway north of Lechmere.<ref name=1945map /><ref name="1947report">{{Cite book |last=Metropolitan Transit Recess Commission |url=https://archive.org/details/reportofmetropol00mass |title=Report of the Metropolitan Transit Recess Commission |date=April 1, 1947 |publisher=Commonwealth of Massachusetts |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> The 1962 ''North Terminal Area Study'', claiming that the 1959 [[Green Line D branch#History|Highland Branch conversion]] showed that [[PCC streetcar]]s were inadequate for suburban rapid transit service, recommended that the elevated Lechmere–North Station segment be abandoned. The Main Line (now the [[Orange Line (MBTA)|Orange Line]]) was to be [[Haymarket North Extension|relocated along the B&M Western Route]] with branches to Woburn or [[Arlington, Massachusetts|Arlington]] via the Southern Division.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Barton-Aschman Associates |url=https://archive.org/details/northterminalare00bart |title=North Terminal Area Study |date=August 1962 |pages=51, 59–61 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref>{{efn|The MTA proposed to close Lechmere on weekends beginning June 23, 1962, but this was cancelled after opposition from the state legislature.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74699989/the-boston-globe/ |title=New Bus Routes Asked by MTA in E. Cambridge |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=April 20, 1962 |page=2 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97592008/the-boston-globe/ |title=At the State House: House Votes to Bar MTA Lechmere Cut |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=April 19, 1962 |page=35 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97855734/the-boston-globe/ |title=Lechmere Station Closing Deferred |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=May 29, 1962 |page=4 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>}}

The 1966 ''Program for Mass Transportation'', the MBTA's first long-range plan, listed an approximately {{convert|1|mile|adj=on}} extension from Lechmere to [[East Somerville station|Washington Street]] as an immediate priority. A second phase of the project would extend Green Line service from Washington Street to [[Mystic Valley Parkway]] (Route 16) or {{bts|West Medford}}.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/comprehensivedev00mass/page/n87/mode/2up |title=A Comprehensive Development Program for Public Transportation in the Massachusetts Bay Area |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority |year=1966 |pages=V-20 – V-23 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref><ref name=transplan /> An extension from Lechmere to Somerville or Medford was listed as low priority in several 1970s and early 1980s due to the addition of [[Davis station (MBTA)|Davis station]] to the [[Red Line Northwest Extension]], which opened in 1984.<ref name=transplan /> Plans in 1978 for redevelopment of the [[Lechmere Canal]] area called for a new elevated station on the east side of the O'Brien Highway. It was to have a {{convert|200|feet|adj=on}}-wide deck, which included a busway loop for cross-platform transfers to Green Line trains.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oeU3AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA43 |title=Environmental Impact Statement/Report: Lechmere Canal and Triangle Area Development Project |page=43 |author=City of Cambridge, Community Development Department |date=1979 |publisher=United States Department of Housing and Urban Development}}</ref>
[[File:1978 Lechmere relocation plans.jpg|thumb|right|1978 plans for an elevated station|alt=Layout and two sections of an elevated light rail terminal. There is a peanut-shaped loop for trains. The right half of the loop is a wide deck that includes a busway, with a ramp from ground level.]]
In 1980, the MBTA began a study of the "Green Line Northwest Corridor" (from {{bts|Haymarket}} to Medford) with three area of focus: replacement of the Causeway Street elevated, replacement of Lechmere station, and extension beyond Lechmere.<ref name="mccarthy">{{Cite journal |last=McCarthy |first=James D. |title=Boston's Light Rail Transit Prepares for the Next Hundred Years |url=http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/sr/sr221/221-019.pdf |journal=Special Report 221: Light Rail Transit: New System Successes at Affordable Prices |publisher=Transportation Research Board |pages=286–308 |year=1988 |issn=0360-859X}}</ref>{{rp|293}} An evaluation report for the extension was published in 1981 and updated in 1984. Alternatives recommended for further evaluation included a Green Line extension to Tufts, a Green Line extension to {{bts|Union Square|Green|D}}, and a busway to Tufts and Davis.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 3, 2004 |title=Beyond Lechmere Northwest Corridor Project Project History |url=https://www.somervillestep.org/files/GreenAdvisory_ProjectHistory_060304.pdf |publisher=Somerville Transportation Equity Partnership}}</ref><ref name=mccarthy />{{rp|308}} Later in the 1980s, the MBTA made plans to relocate Lechmere station as a precursor to an extension. A new elevated station would be located at the same site as the 1970s plans, with a new vehicle storage yard and maintenance facility to the north.<ref name=mccarthy />{{rp|301}} The project was not pursued due to lack of available funding.<ref name="BL1">{{Cite book |last=Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160705134151/http://greenlineextension.eot.state.ma.us/docs_beyondLechmere.html |title=Beyond Lechmere Northwest Corridor Study: Major Investment Study/Alternatives Analysis |date=August 2005 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority |page=2 |chapter=Introduction |chapter-url=http://greenlineextension.eot.state.ma.us/documents/beyondLechmere/MIS8-05-Chapter1.pdf |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160705151118/http://greenlineextension.eot.state.ma.us/documents/beyondLechmere/MIS8-05-Chapter1.pdf |archivedate=July 5, 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

====Planning====
In 1991, the state agreed to build a set of transit projects as part of the settlement of a lawsuit by the [[Conservation Law Foundation]] (CLF) over auto emissions from the Central Artery/Tunnel Project ([[Big Dig]]). Among these projects was a "Green Line Extension To Ball Square/Tufts University", to be complete by the end of 2011.<ref name=1991agreement>{{Cite journal |last=United States Environmental Protection Agency |date=October 4, 1994 |title=Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Massachusetts—Amendment to Massachusetts' SIP (for Ozone and for Carbon Monoxide) for Transit Systems Improvements and High Occupancy Vehicle Facilities in the Metropolitan Boston Air Pollution Control District) |url=https://www.federalregister.gov/citation/59-FR-50498 |journal=Federal Register |volume=59 FR 50498}}</ref> In 1999, [[Pan Am Railways|Guilford Transportation Industries]] (GTI) proposed to develop {{convert|50|acres}} of disused railroad yards on the east side of Lechmere Square. GTI and the MBTA reached an agreement under which GTI would construct a new Lechmere station and maintenance facility – similar to the late 1980s proposal – as a precursor to the extension project. In return, GTI would receive rights to redevelop the site of the surface station.<ref name=GTI1999>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97645515/the-boston-globe/ |first=Peter J. |last=Howe |title=Lechmere development plan drawing fire |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=August 3, 1999 |page=39 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The deal between the MBTA and GTI was criticized by Cambridge officials for its secrecy, while existing residents were concerned that the relocated station would require a difficult crossing of O'Brien Highway for pedestrians from East Cambridge.<ref name=GTI1999 /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97647478/the-boston-globe/ |title=Cambridge neighbors cool to $1.2b building plan |first=Anthony |last=Flint |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=November 18, 2001 |pages=B1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97647528/the-boston-globe/ B7] |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

After a 2005 lawsuit by the city of Somerville and the CLF, the state began planning of the [[Green Line Extension]] (GLX), including a second branch from Lechmere to {{bts|Union Square|Green|E}}.<ref name=2005agreement>{{Cite news |last=Daniel |first=Mac |date=May 19, 2005 |title=$770m transit plans announced |pages=B1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83909659/the-boston-globe/ B4] |work=Boston Globe |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/83909630/the-boston-globe/ |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> By 2006, plans for the development ([[North Point (Cambridge, Massachusetts)|NorthPoint]]) called for a $70 million Lechmere station to open in 2010. The elevated station was to have a half-cylinder glass canopy, with an office building [[air rights|constructed over its northern end]]. It would initially be named "Lechmere at NorthPoint", though the developer hoped to rename it simply "NorthPoint".<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060623075911/http://northpointcambridge.com/vision_siteplan_transportation.html |archive-date=June 23, 2006 |url=http://northpointcambridge.com/vision_siteplan_transportation.html |title=Public Transportation |date=2006 |publisher=Spaulding & Slye |work=NorthPoint}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97649755/the-boston-globe/ |title=The train comes to NorthPoint |first=Thomas C. Jr. |last=Palmer |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=October 23, 2006 |pages=E1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97649992/the-boston-globe/ E4] |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> In 2007, the development stalled due to disagreements between the two firms involved.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97650654/the-boston-globe/ |title=Feuding owners aim to sell NorthPoint |newspaper=Boston Globe |first=Thomas C. Jr. |last=Palmer |date=July 25, 2007 |pages=D1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97650679/the-boston-globe/ D4] |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> With the relocated station in jeopardy, the state took over station planning and incorporated it into GLX planning.<ref name="DEIRch3">{{Cite book |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160705134146/http://greenlineextension.eot.state.ma.us/docs_draftEIR.html |title=Green Line Extension Project Draft Environmental Impact Report / Environmental Assessment and Section 4(f) Statement |date=October 2009 |publisher=Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation and Public Works; Federal Transit Administration |chapter=Chapter 3: Alternatives |chapter-url=http://greenlineextension.eot.state.ma.us/documents/draftEIR/Vol1Text/10_DEIR_EA_V1_CH3_Alts.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160705144443/http://greenlineextension.eot.state.ma.us/documents/draftEIR/Vol1Text/10_DEIR_EA_V1_CH3_Alts.pdf |archive-date=July 5, 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref>{{rp|62}}

Lechmere was a proposed stop on the [[Urban Ring Project (MBTA)|Urban Ring]] – a circumferential [[bus rapid transit]] line designed to connect the existing radial MBTA rail lines to reduce overcrowding in the downtown stations.<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708181035/https://www.commentmgr.com/projects/1169/docs/URnews0105c.pdf |archive-date=July 8, 2011 |url=https://www.commentmgr.com/projects/1169/docs/URnews0105c.pdf |title=Urban Ring Phase 2 Fact Sheet |date=January 2009 |publisher=Massachusetts Department of Transportation}}</ref> Under draft plans released in 2008, the Urban Ring would have approached Lechmere Square from the north on a dedicated bridge over the [[MBTA Commuter Rail Maintenance Facility]], continuing on Morgan Avenue and First Street. Platforms would have been located near Water Street under the relocated Green Line station.<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170514232004/http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/theurbanring/downloads/Plan_Profile_Drawings.pdf |archive-date=May 14, 2017 |url=http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/theurbanring/downloads/Plan_Profile_Drawings.pdf |title=The Urban Ring Phase 2: Revised Draft Environmental Impact Report/Statement |publisher=Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation |date=November 2008}}</ref> The project was cancelled in 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://eeaonline.eea.state.ma.us/EEA/emepa/mepadocs/2010/012710em/pn/14.pdf |title=Re: Urban Ring Phase 2, EOEEA #12565 |date=January 22, 2010 |last=Mullan |first=Jeffery B. |publisher=Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs}}</ref>

The draft environmental impact report (DEIR) was released in October 2009. Preliminary plans in the DEIR kept the location and arched canopy of the previous design, though without the building above. The main headhouse would be located north of First Street at the north end of the platform, with only secondary egress at the southern end. A one-way southbound busway would run from Water Street to First Street, and two parking lots would replace the existing lot.<ref name="DEIRch3" />{{rp|47}}<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160705134146/http://greenlineextension.eot.state.ma.us/docs_draftEIR.html |title=Green Line Extension Project Draft Environmental Impact Report / Environmental Assessment and Section 4(f) Statement |date=October 2009 |publisher=Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation and Public Works; Federal Transit Administration |chapter=Chapter 3: Alternatives |chapter-url=http://greenlineextension.eot.state.ma.us/documents/draftEIR/Vol1Text/10_DEIR_EA_V1_CH3_Alts.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160705144443/http://greenlineextension.eot.state.ma.us/documents/draftEIR/Vol1Text/10_DEIR_EA_V1_CH3_Alts.pdf |archive-date=July 5, 2016}}{{cbignore}} Figures [https://web.archive.org/web/20160705144635/http://greenlineextension.eot.state.ma.us/documents/draftEIR/Vol2Fig/027_DEIR_EA_V2_Fig3_7-2LechmereLayout.pdf 3.7-2], [https://web.archive.org/web/20160705144640/http://greenlineextension.eot.state.ma.us/documents/draftEIR/Vol2Fig/028_DEIR_EA_V2_Fig3_7-3Lechmere_Plan.pdf 3.7-3], [https://web.archive.org/web/20160705144643/http://greenlineextension.eot.state.ma.us/documents/draftEIR/Vol2Fig/029_DEIR_EA_V2_Fig3_7-4LechmereCirculation.pdf 3.7-4], and [https://web.archive.org/web/20160705144652/http://greenlineextension.eot.state.ma.us/documents/draftEIR/Vol2Fig/030_DEIR_EA_V2_Fig3_7-5LechmereElevation.pdf 3.7-5].</ref> The final environmental impact report was released in July 2010. Changes from the DEIR included a redesigned headhouse, a reduction in the platform length from {{convert|450|feet}} to {{convert|225|feet}}, fewer parking spaces, and realignment of the busway into a loop accessed from Water Street.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160705134140/http://greenlineextension.eot.state.ma.us/docs_finalEIR.html |title=Green Line Extension Project Final Environmental Impact Report |date=June 2010 |publisher=Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation and Public Works; Federal Transit Administration |chapter=Chapter 5: Lechmere Station |chapter-url=http://greenlineextension.eot.state.ma.us/documents/FinalEIR/vol1/03_GLX_FEIR_V1_Chap1_to_9.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160705141946/http://greenlineextension.eot.state.ma.us/documents/FinalEIR/vol1/03_GLX_FEIR_V1_Chap1_to_9.pdf|archive-date=July 5, 2016}}{{cbignore}} See also [https://web.archive.org/web/20160705142019/http://greenlineextension.eot.state.ma.us/documents/FinalEIR/vol1/07_GLX_FEIR_V1_Fig5-1_to_5-6b.pdf Figure 5.1]</ref>

In July 2010, the [[Massachusetts Department of Transportation]] (MassDOT) announced that the project was delayed to October 2015.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87456626/the-boston-globe/ |title=Starts and Stops: Long-awaited Green Line extension to Somerville, Medford delayed again |newspaper=Boston Globe |first= Eric |last=Moskowitz |date=July 11, 2010 |page=B2 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> In November 2010, the MBTA reached an agreement with [[Pan Am Railways]] (formerly GTI) and the NorthPoint developers under which the MBTA would receive property on the east side of O'Brien Highway needed for the new Lechmere station; in return, Pan Am would receive the existing Lechmere station site for redevelopment. The agreement, which also included MBTA trackage rights on the [[Worcester, Nashua and Rochester Railroad|Worcester Branch]] and in New Hampshire, was amended in January 2011 and finalized that March.<ref>{{cite web |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160705132622/http://greenlineextension.eot.state.ma.us/documents/about/Topics/AmendedLandXchgAgmt020711.pdf |archivedate=July 5, 2016 |url=http://greenlineextension.eot.state.ma.us/documents/about/Topics/AmendedLandXchgAgmt020711.pdf |date=January 4, 2011 |title=Amended and Restated Development and Land Exchange Agreement |publisher=Massachusetts Department of Transportation}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |url=https://blog.mass.gov/transportation/mbta/mbta-new-lechmere-station-spurs-development/ |title=New Lechmere Station Spurs Development |date=March 3, 2011 |publisher=Massachusetts Department of Transportation |access-date=March 17, 2022 |archive-date=October 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020221551/https://blog.mass.gov/transportation/mbta/mbta-new-lechmere-station-spurs-development/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> By June 2011, the planned arched canopy over the platform and tracks had been replaced with a simpler canopy over the platform.<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160705135814/http://greenlineextension.eot.state.ma.us/documents/PubMtgs/StaWrkshps2011/LechmerePres062911.pdf |archive-date=July 5, 2016 |url=http://greenlineextension.eot.state.ma.us/documents/PubMtgs/StaWrkshps2011/LechmerePres062911.pdf |page=23 |title=Station Design Workshop: Lechmere Station |date=June 29, 2011 |publisher=Massachusetts Department of Transportation}}</ref> Wind shields on the platform were added to the design later that year.<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160705135724/http://greenlineextension.eot.state.ma.us/documents/PubMtgs/StaWrkshps2011/Lechmere_MtgMinutes_12142011.pdf |archive-date=July 5, 2016 |url=http://greenlineextension.eot.state.ma.us/documents/PubMtgs/StaWrkshps2011/Lechmere_MtgMinutes_12142011.pdf |page=4 |title=Lechmere Station Meeting – Kennedy/Longfellow School, Somerville, 158 Spring Street, Cambridge, MA – December 14, 2011 |date=December 20, 2011 |first1=Karen |last1=Arpino-Shaffer |first2=Beverly |last2=Johnson |publisher=Massachusetts Department of Transportation}}</ref> An additional delay, with service beginning between late 2018 and 2020, was announced in August 2011.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87455079/the-boston-globe/ |title=Green Line extension put off until 2018 |first=Matt |last=Byrne |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=August 2, 2011 |page=B2 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

The City of Somerville, MassDOT, and the MBTA reached an agreement in August 2012 to open the Union Square Branch and Lechmere station by early 2017, with construction to begin in 2014.<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://www.somervillema.gov/news/city-massdot-mbta-sign-pact-green-line-station-development-union-square |title=City, MassDOT, MBTA Sign Pact on Green Line Station Development for Union Square |date=August 9, 2012 |publisher=City of Somerville}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87459487/the-boston-globe/ |title=Union Square site for T station |first=Matt |last=Byrne |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=August 9, 2012 |page=NO3 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> In September 2013, MassDOT awarded a $393 million (equivalent to ${{inflation|US-GDP|393|2013}} million in {{inflation year|US-GDP}}), 51-month contract for the construction of Phase 2/2A – Lechmere station, the Union Square Branch, and the first segment of the Medford Branch to [[East Somerville station|Washington Street station]] – with the stations to open in early 2017.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Orchard |first=Chris |date=September 25, 2013 |title=$393 Million Approved to Bring Green Line to Union Square, Washington Street |work=Somerville Patch |url=http://somerville.patch.com/groups/politics-and-elections/p/393-million-approved-to-bring-green-line-to-union-square-washington-street |access-date=September 26, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=September 26, 2013 |title=State approves $393m for three new stations on Green Line |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |url=https://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/somerville/2013/09/state_approves_393m_for_three_new_stations_on_green_line.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927021244/https://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/somerville/2013/09/state_approves_393m_for_three_new_stations_on_green_line.html |archive-date=September 27, 2013}}</ref> Updated plans presented in June 2013 replaced the secondary egress with a second headhouse south of East Street. The platform was extended back to 450 feet, and the parking was moved to the north to allow development adjacent to the station.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://greenlineextension.eot.state.ma.us/documents/PubMtgs/staDesign/Lechmere_Presentation061813.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160705135522/http://greenlineextension.eot.state.ma.us/documents/PubMtgs/staDesign/Lechmere_Presentation061813.pdf |archive-date=July 5, 2016 |pages=21, 24 |title=Lechmere Station |date=June 18, 2013 |publisher=Massachusetts Department of Transportation}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://greenlineextension.eot.state.ma.us/documents/PubMtgs/staDesign/Lechmere_Minutes061813.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160705135536/http://greenlineextension.eot.state.ma.us/documents/PubMtgs/staDesign/Lechmere_Minutes061813.pdf |archive-date=July 5, 2016 |title=Public Meeting – Summary Minutes |date=June 18, 2013 |publisher=Massachusetts Department of Transportation}}</ref> Design of the station was completed in late 2014.<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160705135029/http://greenlineextension.eot.state.ma.us/documents/PubMtgs/staDesign/presentation_102814.pdf |archive-date=July 5, 2016 |url=http://greenlineextension.eot.state.ma.us/documents/PubMtgs/staDesign/presentation_102814.pdf |title=Lechmere Station |date=October 28, 2014 |page=7 |publisher=Massachusetts Department of Transportation}}</ref>

====Redesign====
In August 2015, the MBTA disclosed that project costs had increased substantially, with Phase 2A rising from $387 million to $898 million.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.wbur.org/news/2015/08/24/ballooning-cost-green-line |title=Ballooning Cost Throws Future Of Green Line Extension Into Question |newspaper=WBUR |first=Andy |last=Metzger |date=August 24, 2015}}</ref> This triggered a [[Green Line Extension#Cost increase and redesign|wholesale re-evaluation of the GLX project]]. In December 2015, the MBTA ended its contracts with four firms. Construction work in progress continued, but no new contracts were awarded.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.wbur.org/news/2015/12/10/green-line-extension-contracts |title=MBTA Ending Several Contracts Associated With Green Line Extension Project |newspaper=WBUR |date=December 10, 2015 |first=Abby Elizabeth |last=Conway}}</ref> At that time, cancellation of the project was considered possible, as were elimination of the Union Square Branch and other cost reduction measures.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.wbur.org/news/2015/12/09/green-line-extension-what-to-do |title=Axing Green Line Extension Still On The Table, Pollack Says |newspaper=WBUR |date=December 9, 2015 |first=Abby Elizabeth |last=Conway}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://old.mbta.com/uploadedfiles/About_the_T/Board_Meetings/2015%2012%2009%20GLX%20VE%20MassDOT%20and%20FMC%20Boards%20ISSUE%20FINAL%20copy.pdf |title=Cost Reduction Opportunities |author=Arup |date=December 9, 2015 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Agency}}</ref> In May 2016, the MassDOT and MBTA boards approved a modified project that had undergone [[value engineering]] to reduce its cost. Stations were simplified to resemble [[Green Line D branch|D branch]] surface stations rather than full rapid transit stations, with canopies, faregates, escalators, and some elevators removed. Lechmere station retained its redundant elevators due to the elevation of the platform, but escalators were removed. The platform canopy was replaced with four bus-stop-style shelters.<ref>{{cite book |title=Interim Project Management Team Report: Green Line Extension Project |url=https://old.mbta.com/uploadedfiles/About_the_T/Board_Meetings/GLXBOARDREPORTFINALv2.pdf |publisher=MBTA Fiscal and Management Control Board and the MassDOT Board of Directors |date=May 9, 2016 |pages=5, 44}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=May 10, 2016 |title=State OK's a cut-down Green Line extension |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89356496/the-boston-globe/ |first=Nicole |last=Dungca |newspaper=Boston Globe |pages=A1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89356514/the-boston-globe/ A9] |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

In December 2016, the MBTA announced a new planned opening date of 2021 for the extension.<ref name=delayed2021>{{cite news |last=Dungca |first=Nicole |date=December 7, 2016 |title=New Green Line stations are delayed until 2021 |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/12/07/new-green-line-stations-opening-delayed/S9Gc1c6PtbiSz7Wj3FVKkM/story.html |newspaper=Boston Globe |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161209145509/https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/12/07/new-green-line-stations-opening-delayed/S9Gc1c6PtbiSz7Wj3FVKkM/story.html |archive-date=December 9, 2016}}</ref> A [[design-build]] contract for the GLX was awarded in November 2017.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/11/20/green-line-extension-contract-officially-approved/LpPWSUubsnzWbFtgTceDhI/story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180124110730/https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/11/20/green-line-extension-contract-officially-approved/LpPWSUubsnzWbFtgTceDhI/story.html |archive-date=January 24, 2018 |title=Green Line extension contract officially approved |date=November 20, 2017 |newspaper=Boston Globe |first=Adam |last=Vaccaro}}</ref> The winning proposal included six additive options – elements removed during value engineering – including full-length canopies at all stations, as well as a second elevator in the north headhouse at Lechmere.<ref name="selected">{{Cite press release |title=Green Line Extension Project Design-Build Team Firm Selected |date=November 17, 2017 |publisher=Massachusetts Department of Transportation |url=http://blog.mass.gov/transportation/mbta/green-line-extension-project-design-build-team-firm-selected/ |last1=Jessen |first1=Klark |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220128223614/http://blog.mass.gov/transportation/mbta/green-line-extension-project-design-build-team-firm-selected/ |archive-date=January 28, 2022}}</ref><ref name=nov20/><ref>{{cite book |url=https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/projects/glx/contract/glx-technical-proposal-first-half.pdf |title=Response to the Request for Proposal for the Green Line Extension Design Build Project |publisher=GLX Constructors |date=September 2017}} ([https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/projects/glx/contract/glx-technical-proposal-second-half.pdf Volume 2])</ref> Station design advanced from 10% in March 2018 to 76% that December and to 100% in October 2019.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mass.gov/doc/january-30-2019-glx-public-meeting-presentation/download |title=GLX Project Open House |page=14 |date=January 30, 2019 |publisher=Massachusetts Department of Transportation}}</ref><ref name=nov2019 /> The 100% design added a second entrance to the north headhouse, providing direct access both from the busway and North First Street.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mass.gov/doc/lechmere-station-design/download |title=Lechmere Station Information and Design |date=January 30, 2019 |publisher=Massachusetts Department of Transportation}}</ref><ref name=nov2019 /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mass.gov/doc/glx-community-working-group-november-5-2019-meeting-minutes/download |title=November 5, 2019 Community Working Group Meeting – Summary Minutes |date=November 5, 2019 |page=1 |publisher=Massachusetts Department of Transportation}}</ref> The platform length was set at {{convert|355|feet}}, between the previous planned lengths. Unlike the pre-2015 designs, no parking lot was included.<ref name=nov2019 />

====Construction and opening====
[[File:Lechmere station construction from Lechmere Square, December 2021.jpg|thumb|right|Station construction in December 2021]]
[[Green Line Extension#Early work|Early GLX work]] included the demolition of a disused MBTA facility at 21 Water Street to make room for the new Lechmere station. Notice to proceed for the early work was issued to Barletta Heavy Division on January 31, 2013, and construction started in March.<ref name=march2013>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160705135443/http://greenlineextension.eot.state.ma.us/documents/PubMtgs/Phase1/Phase1_presentation_030513.pdf |archive-date=July 5, 2016 |url=http://greenlineextension.eot.state.ma.us/documents/PubMtgs/Phase1/Phase1_presentation_030513.pdf |title=Green Line Extension Phase 1 Early Bridge & Demolition Public Meeting |date=March 5, 2013 |publisher=Massachusetts Department of Transportation}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=March 20, 2013 |title=MBTA gets set to lay tracks |work=The Somerville News |url=http://www.thesomervillenews.com/archives/36388 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130324024945/http://www.thesomervillenews.com/archives/36388 |archive-date=March 24, 2013}}</ref> The 21 Water Street facility was demolished in August 2014.<ref>{{Cite web |last=MassDOT |date=August 25, 2014 |title=2014_08_25 MBTA Building at 21 Water St in Cambridge Demolition_2 |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/massdot/15034565052/in/set-72157633388240699/ |publisher=Massachusetts Department of Transportation |via=Flickr}}</ref> The 369-space parking lot at Lechmere was closed on June 22, 2017, for construction preparation.<ref>{{cite tweet |number=876937641970851840 |user=MBTA |author=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority |title=Parking Lot at Lechmere will permanently close at ~6p this Thurs. 6/22 due to the #GreenLine Extension Project http://bit.ly/1uLsT2A #MBTA}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ctps.org/data/pdf/programs/cmp/park-and-ride-memo-2017-2018.pdf |title=2017–18 Inventory of Park-and-Ride Lots at MBTA Facilities |page=5 |date=December 17, 2020 |first=Ryan |last=Hicks |publisher=Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization}}</ref>

A groundbreaking ceremony for the main GLX construction phase was held on June 25, 2018.<ref name=2018gb>{{cite news |url=https://www.wbur.org/news/2018/06/25/green-line-extension-groundbreaking |title=Officials Break Ground On Green Line Extension |newspaper=WBUR |date=June 25, 2018 |access-date=November 24, 2021}}</ref> Construction began in mid-2019.<ref name=nov2019>{{cite web |url=https://www.mass.gov/doc/glx-pubilc-meeting-station-boards-november-19-2019/download |title=Public meeting boards |date=November 19, 2019 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}}</ref> Work at Lechmere station started by September 2019; the concrete pillars for the viaduct were poured later that year, while installation of the beams supporting the trackways and platform began in January 2020.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mass.gov/doc/glx-community-working-group-september-3-2019-meeting-presentation/download |page=15 |title=GLX Community Working Group: Monthly Meeting |date=September 3, 2019 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mass.gov/doc/glx-community-working-group-november-5-2019-meeting-presentation/download |page=38 |title=GLX Community Working Group: Monthly Meeting |date=November 5, 2019 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mass.gov/doc/january-7-2020-meeting-presentation/download |page=12 |title=GLX Community Working Group: Monthly Meeting |date=January 7, 2020 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}}</ref> Installation of the beams through the station was completed in April 2020.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mass.gov/doc/may-5-2020-meeting-presentation/download |page=9 |title=GLX Community Working Group: Monthly Meeting |date=May 5, 2020 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}}</ref>

The project required a temporary service suspension while the elevated structure to the old station was replaced with the new viaduct. The final day of service to the old station was May 23, 2020, with the final revenue trip leaving early in the morning of the 24th. Demolition of the old elevated structure began within hours.<ref name=endoftheend />{{rp|13}} A bus shuttle between Lechmere and North Station – with dedicated [[bus lane]]s on the [[Charles River Dam Bridge]] – began on May 24, 2020. (The bus shuttle used the west busway at the former station, while local bus routes continued to use the east busway.) At that time, service was expected to resume in April 2021.<ref name=mbta2020-5-15>{{cite press release |url=https://mbta.com/news/2020-04-15/glx-update-mbta-announced-dedicated-bus-lanes-slated-charles-river-dam-road |title=GLX Update: MBTA Announced Dedicated Bus Lanes Slated for Charles River Dam Road |date=April 15, 2020 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}}</ref> After removal of the tracks, the former yard area was repurposed for construction employee parking.<ref name=endoftheend />{{rp|13}}

Station construction was "well underway" by early August 2020, with the headhouse shells partially built; the platform was poured around August 10.<ref name=aug2020pres>{{cite web |url=https://www.mass.gov/doc/glx-community-working-group-meeting-presentation-august-4-2020/download |title=GLX Community Working Group Monthly Meeting: August 4, 2020 |date=August 4, 2020 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}}</ref> The elevator towers for the north headhouse were erected in October 2020, followed by the tower for the south headhouse in November.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mass.gov/doc/glx-community-working-group-meeting-presentation-november-3-2020/download |page=16 |title=GLX Community Working Group: Monthly Meeting #36 |date=November 3, 2020 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}}</ref> Steelwork for the canopy, the artwork on the elevator shafts, and a signal instrument house were installed in March and April 2021.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mass.gov/doc/glx-virtual-cwg-meeting-presentation-april-6-2021/download |pages=19, 21 |title=GLX Community Working Group: Monthly Meeting #41 |date=April 6, 2021 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mass.gov/doc/glx-virtual-cwg-meeting-presentation-may-4-2021/download |pages=11–13 |title=GLX Community Working Group: Monthly Meeting #42 |date=May 4, 2021 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}}</ref> The bus loop was under construction by June 2021, with the plaza under the station nearly complete, and the canopy roof was installed that month.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mass.gov/doc/glx-virtual-cwg-meeting-presentation-june-1-2021/download |title=GLXC Construction Update |first=Jeff |last=Wagner |date=June 1, 2021 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority |page=25}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mass.gov/doc/glx-virtual-cwg-meeting-presentation-july-6-2021/download |page=13 |title=GLX Community Working Group: Monthly Meeting #44 |date=July 6, 2021 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}}</ref> Train testing between for Lechmere and the Union Square Branch began in December 2021.<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://www.mbta.com/projects/green-line-extension-glx/update/test-trains-now-running-the-green-line-extension |title=Test Trains Now Running on the Green Line Extension |date=December 23, 2021 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}}</ref>

By March 2021, the station was expected to open in October 2021.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2021-03/2021-03-29-fmcb-9-report-from-general-manager.pdf |title=Report from the General Manager |date=March 29, 2021 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority |page=20}}</ref> This was delayed in June 2021 to a December 2021 opening, then again in October 2021 to a March 2022 opening.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2021/10/21/green-line-extension-union-square-branch-delay-march/ |title=The opening of the first Green Line Extension branch has been delayed — again |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=October 21, 2021 |first=Nik |last=DeCosta-Klipa}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/files/2021-06/2021-06-21-fmcb-14-green-line-extension-update.pdf |page=19 |title=Green Line Extension Update |first=John |last=Dalton |date=June 21, 2021 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}}</ref> On February 24, 2022, the MBTA announced that Lechmere and the Union Square Branch would open on March 21, 2022, while the Medford Branch would open in "late summer". Initial Union Square service was operated by the [[Green Line E branch|E branch]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lisinski |first=Chris |date=February 24, 2022 |title=Green Line Extension service to begin March 21 |url=https://www.wbur.org/news/2022/02/24/mbta-somerville-green-line-open |access-date=February 25, 2022 |website=WBUR}}</ref> In August 2022, the MBTA indicated that the Medford Branch opening was delayed to November 2022. The Green Line between Union Square and Government Center was closed from August 22 to September 18, 2022; the closure allowed for final integration of the Medford Branch, elimination of a speed restriction on the Lechmere Viaduct, and other work.<ref name=nov22>{{cite press release |url=https://www.mbta.com/news/2022-08-05/building-better-t-glx-medford-branch-open-late-november-2022-shuttle-buses-replace |title=Building A Better T: GLX Medford Branch to Open in Late November 2022; Shuttle Buses to Replace Green Line Service for Four Weeks between Government Center and Union Square beginning August 22 |date=August 5, 2022 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}}</ref> At the conclusion of the closure, the D branch was extended to Union Square, replacing the E. Medford Branch service began on December 12, 2022.<ref name=dec12>{{cite news |url=https://www.wbur.org/news/2022/11/17/green-line-extension-medford-branch-opening-december-mbta |title=Final stretch of Green Line Extension will open Dec. 12 |newspaper=WBUR |first=Chris |last=Lisinski |date=November 17, 2022 |access-date=November 17, 2022}}</ref>
{{clear}}
<gallery mode="packed" heights="160px">
File:Green Line Extension 2014 08 21 MBTA Building at 21 Water St in Cambridge Demolition Progress 1 - Copy (14855773018).jpg|Demolition of 21 Water Street in August 2014|alt=A cinderblock building being demolished by an excavator
File:Lechmere station steel work (4), February 2020.jpg|Steel work in February 2020|alt=A large steel beam being lifted onto a viaduct
File:Aerial view of Lechmere station construction, May 2020.png|Station construction in May 2020|alt=Aerial view of an elevated light rail station under construction
File:Science Park shuttle bus at old Lechmere station Aug 2021.agr.jpg|Shuttle buses at Lechmere in August 2021|alt=Two white buses in a busway at a disused light rail station
File:Aerial view of Lechmere station construction, September 2021.jpg|Station construction in September 2021|alt=An aerial view of an elevated railway station under construction in an urban area
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Notes===
{{notelist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[https://www.mbta.com/stops/place-lech MBTA – Lechmere]

{{MBTA Subway Stations}}

[[Category:Green Line (MBTA) stations]]
[[Category:Railway stations in Cambridge, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Cambridge, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Railway stations in the United States opened in 1922]]
[[Category:Railway stations in the United States opened in 2022]]
[[Category:1922 establishments in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Green Line Extension]]
[[Category:Bus stations in Middlesex County, Massachusetts]]