MBTA and City of Boston Announce Plans for Summer Street to Support World Cup Matches

The MBTA in partnership with the City of Boston is announcing a plan regarding Summer Street closures around South Station to support both local and regional commuters, neighborhood access, and the thousands of passengers heading to the seven World Cup matches at Boston Stadium this summer.

"Safety has always been the MBTA's top priority, and this plan allows both the MBTA and the City to keep security paramount while also maintaining street flexibility," said Interim Secretary of Transportation and MBTA General Manager and CEO Phillip Eng. "Thank you to Mayor Wu and City staff for collaborating with us as we best support both our global World Cup passengers and the greater Boston Community."

"Boston was recently ranked the safest US host city for the World Cup, and we're proud of our track record of careful coordination between City and State partner agencies hosting major events where residents and visitors alike have a smooth, welcoming experience in Boston," said Mayor Michelle Wu. "We're counting down the days to showcase our city this summer and look forward to connecting visitors to enjoy not only the special events hosted in Boston, but also our beautiful public spaces, fantastic restaurants and unique small businesses. Consistent with our usual process for planning large scale events, we are pleased that our City and State teams have developed a shared plan for Summer Street that will ensure public safety, efficient access, and clear coordination."

During all seven matches, the City of Boston will support the MBTA with parking and traffic restrictions, temporary traffic control, and other securing measures.

Summer Street will be fully closed to vehicular traffic between Dorchester Avenue and Atlantic Avenue for eight hours in support of World Cup matches on June 13, June 19, June 29, and July 9.

For matches held on June 16, June 23, and June 26, Summer Street will be open to vehicular traffic on the westbound (north) side only. The direction of travel will be coordinated based on the demands of the respective day and time. Public safety and security officials will coordinate with incident command and make decisions as needed in the interest of public safety. This may include additional temporary traffic restrictions and lane closures to accommodate crowd management.

Summer Street will be fully closed to vehicular traffic between Dorchester Avenue and Atlantic Avenue while the MBTA sets up the temporary security screening and queuing space for all seven matches in the interest of employee safety. Residents and visitors are encouraged to avoid the area if possible and to take public transportation if they have to travel to the area.

The MBTA and the City of Boston will also review the Summer Street closures following each match and review the plan to improve operations and the visitor experience.

With this plan in place, the MBTA will withdraw its temporary eminent domain letter to the City of Boston, and the City of Boston will issue the MBTA the necessary Occupancy Permit.