Lechmere

Lechmere is a light rail station and the present-day northern terminus of the MBTA Green Line. It is located at Lechmere Square in East Cambridge, Massachusetts near the intersection of Cambridge Street and Monsignor O'Brien Highway (Route 28). Green Line trains run around a balloon loop, inside which is a small yard used for midday and overnight storage. The station has two platforms, which are not connected within fare control; the outbound terminus is on the northeast side of the loop and the inbound platform is on the southwest side. Lechmere station is fully handicapped accessible.As part of the Green Line Extension project, the current (1922-built) Lechmere station is planned to be demolished. A new elevated station will be built on the opposite side of the O'Brien Highway. This station will be adjacent to the Northpoint development and will have a direct connection to the Somerville Community Path. The new station is planned to open in 2017, and will be an intermediate station on the "D" and "E" branches and will no longer serve as a terminus.HistoryWhen the Tremont Street Subway fully opened in 1898, surface cars entering the subway from Cambridge Street and Bridge Street in East Cambridge had to cross Craigie's Bridge and proceed on surface streets to the Canal Street Incline. The trip from Lechmere Point over the bridge was slow and prone to delays. After five years of construction, the Lechmere Viaduct and Causeway Street Elevated opened on June 1, 1912, providing the streetcar routes from Harvard Square and much of Somerville a direct route into the subway.