Eyes On the Street: In Back Bay, A New Transit Plaza Takes Shape Over the Turnpike

It’s been under construction for three and a half years now, but a busy transit transfer station and sidewalk in the heart of the Back Bay neighborhood are finally taking shape to open up to the public later this year.

The Parcel 12 development project is building two new high-rise buildings over the Massachusetts Turnpike along Massachusetts Avenue between Newbury and Boylston Streets.

Those buildings are nearly complete, and workers are now building a large new plaza along Massachusetts Avenue that will include a new entrance to the Hynes Green Line station and a new physically-separated bike lane on Massachusetts Avenue (pictured above).

Here’s what the same sidewalk looked like in 2019, before this project went under construction:

And here’s an architect’s rendering of what’s being built right now. Note the new Green Line station entrance at lower right, which will lead under Mass. Ave. to the Hynes Convention Center Green Line platforms:

The project is also building a new protected bike lane and new sidewalks along the adjacent segment of Boylston Street, creating an improved connection from Mass. Ave. toward the Fenway neighborhood:

According to the project’s construction updates, work on the plaza and sidewalks will continue through April.