"Assembly Square station gets go-ahead, lifting hopes for redevelopment of site into a riverfront complex" "The agreement gives the state the real estate rights to build the [Orange Line] station and entrances and realign track. The project is expected to cost $53.7 million, with the T hoping to advertise for construction bids this spring and complete it within three years." "We're…
Somerville Journal: "MBTA votes keep Somerville transit projects on track" "To put it in simplest terms, what happened is the state put a lot of its skin in the game," Mayor Curtatone said. "Thanks to the leadership of Governor Patrick, MassDOT Secretary Mullan and the support of the MBTA Board, tens of millions of dollars are about to pour into these…
State House News Service: "MBTA advances Green Line extension, Mullan 'nervous' about funding" MBTA officials on Monday agreed to advance a $21 million proposal to initiate the extension of the Green Line but opted against approving the full $95 million authorization sought by staff, with the state's top transportation official saying he was "nervous" about federal funding. Boston Herald: "Debt forces…
By Ken Krause, MGNA
On Monday, the MBTA Board of Directors is expected to approve a $95 million contract for Project Management and Preliminary Design, and Construction Management and Preliminary Design for the Green Line Extension project.
The contract is proposed to be awarded to a joint venture of the Gilbane Building Company and HDR Engineering, Inc. Both companies have been involved in prominent MBTA projects – Gilbane with the recently completed multimodal transportation center at T.F. Green Airport near Providence, and HDR with the Government Center Station modernization project now under way.
MassDOT released its response to many comments from the public that were made about the State Implementation Plan (SIP). A few highlights: "MassDOT has been consistent in its support of an ultimate terminus from the Green Line Extension at Mystic Valley Parkway/Route 16, but has proposed that this final segment of the project be planned and constructed as a second phase.…
In advance of its annual conference in Boston in April, the American Planning Association devoted its January issue to articles about the Hub, including a lengthy cover story on the Green Line extension project. Check it out. "Generally, there has been little controversy about the Green Line extension - surprising, given its size and scope. Somerville in particular has wholeheartedly embraced…
Some tidbits from the latest status report on MassDOT transit commitments: Project cost is now estimated at $953.7 million. The New Starts application is still in progress. Preliminary Engineering will begin winter 2011. The Green Line will open by Oct 2015, 10 months beyond the legal deadline. (MassDOT will propose an interim offset project that the public will be able to…
"MAPC seeks community input on Green Line extension" MAPC, which is the regional planning agency for Metropolitan Boston, will lead the community visioning process and examine how a future Mystic Valley Parkway station could foster transit-oriented development in the area, while minimizing negative impacts to the local community. View an overview of the MAPC study (PDF).
By Ken Krause, MGNA
It doesn’t appear that Green Line Extension (GLX) project planning will get off to a fast start in the New Year.
Approval of a contract for the crucial next phase of the project does not appear on the agenda for the first MBTA/MassDOT board meeting of 2011, scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 5.
In October, the MBTA issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for Preliminary Engineering, Project Oversight and Project Management for the project that would essentially complete the design of the stations and maintenance facility, the final step before construction can commence. Responses were due on Nov. 22, and project officials had said they hoped to presented a contract for board for approval in January. It appears that such approval will now have to wait until at least the February board meeting.
Medford Patch: "Residents Walk the Proposed Green Line Extension" Twenty citizens braved the cold and wind Saturday morning to look over the sites of future stations at Ball Square and College Avenue. The aim of the walk was to gather citizen concerns ahead of the station-area meetings that would begin in January, which will be conducted by the MBTA to best…