In an email to “Green Line Extension Friends,” MassDOT, clearly on the defensive as the public outcry continues, answers some common questions and tries to rationalize the delay. Here are a few highlights:
- “MassDOT and the MBTA are in no way choosing to delay the Green Line Extension project at this point. The new schedule reflects what we believe to be a realistic and reasonable assessment of how long the project will take to complete from its current point of development, given the many complex, interrelated, and time-consuming tasks remaining.”
- “MassDOT and the MBTA are not satisfied with the current anticipated schedule for the Green Line Extension project. In the service of improving the anticipated schedule, MassDOT and the MBTA have called for the creation of a small Steering Group to consider ways to improve the schedule.”
- “MassDOT and the MBTA believed that previous schedules were attainable when we released them and that the level of detail and analysis was appropriate to the phase of project development. Since then, however, changes in the project; better understandings of the risks involved; and delays in the procurement, design, environmental, and real estate processes have made those schedules obsolete.”
- “MassDOT, the MBTA, and their technical consultant teams are continuing to work on the Green Line Extension project at the same pace and with the same level of determination as ever. There has been no cessation or slowdown of work.”
- “Funding the costs of constructing the Green Line Extension remains a significant challenge….Successful New Starts projects require a detailed and rigorous demonstration of the fundamental financial health of the applicant transportation agency, a threshold which will be difficult for the MBTA to meet.”
- “Regardless of whether the Green Line Extension project receives federal support, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is committed to funding the project out of available state monies.”
- “MassDOT and the MBTA will welcome recommendations for interim measures that will substantially and quantitatively improve air quality by reducing the use of private vehicles.”
Here are the reasons listed for the delay, all of which have been known challenges for years:
- “The time required to complete major property acquisition and relocations prior to the award of the Design-Build contract to complete the Green Line Extension.”
- “Coordination with over 40 different utilities and the time required for utility relocations as part of the bridge widening work.”
- “The fact that MBTA Commuter Rail operations must be maintained during construction, necessitating the sequencing of major bridge, retaining wall, signal, and drainage work.”
- “In addition, entering the federal New Starts program and complying with the federal environmental processes have added complexity to the schedule and proven to be more time-consuming than originally anticipated.”
Keep reading for the full MassDOT email.
(more…)