The MBTA Orange Line officially closed at 9 p.m. Friday as part of an unprecedented 30-day shutdown of the transit line that runs from Forest Hills to Oak Grove in Malden.
The last train rolled out of each station at 8:30 p.m. Shuttle buses, which will replace the rapid transit line during the shutdown, idled outside. Orange Line stations will remain open for bus and commuter rail service, the MBTA said.
Earlier Friday, MBTA and state transportation officials
Outlined final details and recommendations for commuters ahead of what is expected to be a significant disruption to traveling throughout Boston and surrounding cities.
Transportation Secretary Jamey Tesler, MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak, and MassDOT Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver provided information on the shutdown at a press conference at the Forest Hills T station Friday morning, where they acknowledged the wide-ranging impacts of the suspension and vowed to limit the disruption to one month.
“We know that this is a tremendous disruption, but it allows us to take a bold and decisive step to make the Orange Line [and] the MBTA safer,” Poftak said. “This is a 30-day surge and only a 30-day surge,” with officials aiming to do the work “safely and do it in the time allotted.”
The shutdown took effect Friday at 9 p.m., and will last until Sept. 18. Meanwhile, part of the Green Line — between the Government Center and Union Square stations — also is scheduled to be shuttered simultaneously as the Orange Line undergoes repairs and replacement of tracks.
Governor Charlie Baker and other officials warned earlier this week that “traffic congestion will be severe” on city streets and state highways during the Orange Line shutdown. Gulliver reiterated that same point during the briefing, and said delays are likely along the North Shore and into Boston.
“We are expecting major traffic impacts in certain areas over the next few weeks,” said MassDOT highway administrator Jonathan Gulliver.
Addressing the widespread impacts the Orange Line shutdown will have on daily passengers and others commuting into the city, Poftak laid out a range of alternative travel methods available and initiatives the MBTA has spearheaded to aid in reducing chaos and confusion.
The transit agency has provided over 20,000 free Charlie Cards along the route to help parents who want to travel with their children to school, Poftak said. He again urged those who can work remotely to do so.
“I also acknowledge that many of our customers do not have that option and that’s why we’ve worked so hard to create these various alternative paths,” he said. Poftak asked the business community to be patient with employers who are “navigating paths of travel that may have some delays.”
The MBTA will be deploying transit ambassadors throughout the system “but particularly at key stations” to help commuters with “way finding,” he said.
”We’ll have volunteers from the MBTA corporate staff, our transit navigation crew, out at stations to help our customers navigate this,” Poftak said.
Riders with questions are encouraged to phone the MBTA call center, which the transit agency will be operating “with enhanced staffing and extended hours.” The number is 617-222-3200.
Shuttle buses will be deployed across Greater Boston to carry the tens of thousands of commuters who will have their daily routes affected. The MBTA also is encouraging Orange Line riders to take the commuter rail, which will be essentially free for those who show a Charlie Card or CharlieTicket to conductors at stations in zones 1A, 1, and 2.
Bus drivers are coming in from all over the country and have been practicing their shuttle routes to get accustomed to the city streets, Poftak said. There’s a $37 million contract for buses, he added, and there are roughly 180 buses available.
“We have every accessible bus east of the Mississippi here,” he said. “We have drivers coming from all over the country that we are putting up.”
Gulliver said new bus lanes along the diversion route have been created and are designated for shuttle buses and emergency vehicles only. More people than ever, he said, are bound to choose to walk or use the available free Blue Bikes to get around the city without access to the Orange Line.
“We want you all to be safe — all road users,” he said. “We are urging all road users — whether you’re in a car or a bike or using a sidewalk — to be patient and think about the safety of yourselves and others as you traverse these routes.”
As officials made preparations on Thursday, incorrect signs at subway stations, last-minute changes to shuttle bus routes, and concerns about shortcomings in service for Chinatown residents, set an unsettling tone.
Residents have been left both confused and frustrated as a result of the project.
It will be “impossible to avoid chaos altogether” as a result of the impacts, warned Boston Mayor Michelle Wu on Thursday.
But Poftak said on Friday that the closure will help to make the MBTA “safer, more reliable, and faster.”
“We look forward to bringing that improved service to our customers at the end of the surge,” he said.
Material from prior Globe stories was used in this report.
Shannon Larson can be reached at shannon.larson@globe.com. Follow her @shannonlarson98. Matt Yan can be reached at matt.yan@globe.com. Follow him @matt_yan12. Kate Selig was a Globe intern in 2022. Follow her on Twitter @kate_selig.