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Alewife garage to close overnight starting Monday, Aug. 13

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The MBTA’s Alewife parking garage will be closed over the weekend from August 17-19 to accommodate repairs to the dilapidated structure, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority announced Friday afternoon.

Work crews contained concrete deterioration in repairs made while the garage was closed last weekend.

The garage will be closed again this weekend for monitor and further work on the structure, but it will also be closed overnight during the week starting on Monday, Aug. 13. The garage will reopen each morning at 5 a.m.

The second closure and more restrictive hours come just a week after a large piece of concrete fell on a car parked on the garage’s second level, the MBTA says it is addressing concerns raised about the nearly 40-year-old building’s structural integrity.

Around 500 spaces had been shut down over the past two days as MBTA crews inspected the garage and looked to make repairs after the Wednesday afternoon incident. Engineers had determined the garage was safe for use, but needed spot repairs.

The MBTA says it is developing a ‘long-term plan for the garage,’ but said a $5.7 million contract had been awarded Thursday to begin repair work in September.

The work includes “repairing beams, patching concrete decks, re-caulking deck joints, and cleaning and flushing the existing drainage system.”

The MBTA says it will spend $8 billion over the next five years upgrading the whole system’s infrastructure.

Alewife station has 2,627 total spaces.

MORE: Alewife station down 500 parking spaces as crews make emergency repairs