Underground Buses to Run In Four Months

Pedestrians and motorists in Harvard Square will have fewer public buses to dodge when construction workers complete the underground bus tunnel running under Square buildings at the end of the summer.

Since renovations of the MBTA subway and tunnel began more than five years ago, buses have been forced around the Cambridge Common and thought Harvard Square streets, said Ken Goode, an aide for Massachusetts Senator George Bachrach (D-Watertown).

The two-way tunnel will link the Flagstaff Park bus station, now an island in the middle of Mass. Ave., with an above ground opening near the Harvard Motor House on Mt. Auburn Ave.

Down Under

Goode said that more than 75 percent of the diesel and trolley buses now running above ground will be diverted into the tunnel.

"People have been screaming for this for years," said Goode citing traffic congestion and dangers posed to pedestrians by the buses.

Cambridge City Councilor Francis H. Duchav '55 said that MBTA users will get more transportation convenience when the bus station opens next to the subway.

Centralization

"Having buses in one central place, close to the Red Line station is what we always had, and now it will be the case again when the station is completed," he said.

Goode said the August target date is important to meet because it coincides with the opening of Cambridge Schools.

When the recently bus trail is finished the recently built MBTA openings on Brattle St. well be available for underground walking said Goode.