Milton commuters can now reach the Mattapan Line trolley station from Adams Street on a new ADA-compliant walkway that replaced a staircase closed for years before the MBTA tore it down in 2023.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) held a ribbon cutting Wednesday, Sept. 30, to mark the opening of the sloped, 8-foot-wide, fully lit walkway at Milton Station. The $3.8 million project also added new lighting, security cameras, handrails, signage, seating and landscaping, according to the MBTA.

Interim MassDOT Secretary and MBTA General Manager Phil Eng, state Sen. Bill Driscoll Jr., state Reps. Richard Wells Jr. and Brandy Fluker-Reid, Milton officials and project team members attended the ceremony.

The walkway grew out of years of public complaints. Eng told attendees the ramp serves everyone who uses the station, the Dorchester Reporter reported.

"Whether you need it physically, whether you are with children, or whether you're carrying packages and groceries, accessibility is critical," Eng said at the Sept. 30 event.

Rep. Wells called the walkway a "long-awaited improvement" and credited Driscoll and Fluker-Reid for their advocacy. Fluker-Reid said the new lighting, handrails and cameras will make the stop safer for seniors, people with disabilities and families with strollers.

The walkway caps a years-long fight between Milton and the MBTA over Adams Street access. The old staircase had been in disrepair and closed for years when Milton sued the MBTA in October 2022 over the agency's failure to fix it, Patch reported.

The MBTA demolished the staircase in March 2023 over objections from town officials, who had asked Gov. Maura Healey to intervene, CBS Boston reported at the time. The agency said in a September 2022 letter to the Milton Select Board that repairing the stairs would have required an elevator, a raised platform and a full station replacement.

Available sources do not confirm whether the lawsuit has been resolved.

Driscoll called the walkway "the first visible and major improvement made to the Mattapan Line since the refurbished trolleys began entering daily service several years ago." He said the project is part of a larger Mattapan Line Program expected to bring hundreds of millions of dollars in improvements along the corridor.

No timeline for the next round of Mattapan Line improvements has been announced.