MBTA officials said yesterday, however, that there is good news for those who have been annoyed by the work: construction above ground in the Square is nearly completed and future work in building a new Harvard subway station will occur predominantly underground, reducing commotion generated by the work.

The Red Line extension project, which will add three new stations to the subway system in Porter Square, Davis Square, and Alewife, is expected to be completed on schedule in late 1984. That's about the same time that work in the Square will be finished, MBTA spokesmen said.

There may soon be less disruption from the MBTA, but area residents won't be through watching heavy construction--whether they like it or not--for some time to come. Two housing and office complexes that, when they are completed, will be the biggest developments in the Square, are scheduled to get underway this winter.

Harvard's $25 million University Place project is moving full speed ahead, and a February or March ground-breaking is planned for the non-academic office and luxury condominium complex, which will be built on what is now a parking lot across from the Mt. Auburn St. post office.

From its inception the University Place project has been unique because of cooperation between Harvard and local residents, who served on a citizens' advisory committee that approved the design.

Jacqueline O'Neill, assistant to the vice-president for government and community affairs, said yesterday the spirit of cooperation has been continuing. O'Neill added that the University will ask the city council in late December to approve plans for a set of street improvements designed to ease anticipated traffic congestion around University Place. The improvements may also ease congestion from construction on Parcel 1B, which is located next door, behind the Kennedy School of Government.

The excavation work on Parcel 1b, at one time slated to be the site of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library, may also begin this winter, after years of delay caused by neighborhood protest of proposals for construction on the state-owned land.

A $60 million design for the hotel-condominium-office-and-retail complex was approved by the planning board this summer, and has been accepted by neighborhood groups which had in the past successfully stalled construction.

Between Parcel 1b and University Place is located a comparatively small rent-controlled apartment building whose future continues to trouble its owner. Harvard University, and its tenants.

After months of uncertainty over what to do with the Craigie Arms apartments, located on Mt. Auburn St. across from the post office, Harvard decided to hire an outside developer, who would acquire ownership of the building once massive renovations were complete.

But tenants in the building, who have charged the University with illegally removing some of the Craigie Arms apartments from the rental market, have so far refused University offers of compensation for moving out of their apartments.

Two weeks ago tenants tried negotiating a settlement of their rent control board complaint, this time with representatives of the developer, Housing Associates of Cambridge, rather than with University officials.

But the tenants and developer have so far, after several meetings, been unable to reach an agreement. No new bargaining sessions were held last week, and the tenants' case against Harvard in the rent control board hearing is scheduled to resume December 15. An attorney for the developer Harvard has chosen to renovate Craigie Arms said yesterday he plans to meet the tenants for another round of talks sometime this week.

Harvard and Craigie Arms tenants are not the only groups in the city having trouble resolving complex issues. Negotiations between Cambridge school officials and the city teachers' union over the union's court suit challenging the city's minority teacher lay-off policy are also continuing.

But Cambridge Superintendent of Schools William Lannon said yesterday that an out-of-court settlement is unlikely until the new school committee takes office. Roland Lachance, president of the Cambridge Teachers' Association (CTA), said the new school committee, which will include more conservative Independents and fewer liberal members of the Cambridge Civic Association, may provide a "better forum" for the union's complaint: that minority teachers should not be spared from lay-offs while teachers with greater seniority are fired due to Proposition 2 1/2.

Proposition 2 1/2 pressures are not only affecting the schools. City Councilor David Wylie said yesterday he would like to see a third printing of the city's popular civil defense booklet, which advocates nuclear disarmament as the best way to maintaining public safety. But Wylie adds that budget considerations may keep the city from adding to the 40,000 booklets which have already been printed.

Only about 1000 of the pamphlets are left now. Wylie said, but the requests for copies from around the country keep coming in.