Wednesday is a big day for students, teachers, and for the MBTA as more communities along the shuttered Orange Line head back to the classroom.
Somerville is one of many districts welcoming kids back and also waiting to see what impact the 30-day shutdown of the Orange Line might have.
“It’ll definitely affect my classmates," one student told NBC10 Boston. "I take those lines as well, somewhat often throughout the week and weekends. It’ll definitely affect me.”
Malden and Medford also go back Wednesday, so school leaders said traffic congestion is likely going to be part of the routine.
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"The families know there's a little bit of a hiccup in the transportation process," Malden High School Principal Chris Mastrangelo said. "We're going to gauge how it goes this morning. We think we're ready. If we have to make adjustments, we'll make those adjustments. There's always adjustments to be made on the first day of school."
"We do have a great deal of our students that do take public transportation to the building every day," he added. "I know the MBTA has been working hard to fill those gaps. We really have to wait and see what happens this morning and kind of regroup and see if we have to change the plan or gauge where we're at."
In Somerville, those taking the T are faced with changes to both the Orange Line and the Green Line.
Several Blue Bikes are in place in front of Somerville High School to help out, and the distirct expanded its M7 program offering free CharlieCards to middle school students as well as high school.
About 5,000 students are returning in Somerville alone. The superintendent said many can walk and bike to schools, but they are making sure they have all of the information they need.
"The Orange Line shutdown we don't think will have a big impact on our students and families," acting Somerville Superintendent of Schools Jeff Curley said. "Certainly more congestion, and we want them to plan on that, but we're hopeful it won't be too disruptive in the next couple weeks.
Curley said about two-thirds of their staff are coming from outside the district, so they've been communicating with them. But he said the shuttles replacing Orange Line trains have been pretty reliable.
As for any potential traffic impacts, he said they'll be wating to see what happens.
