The Secretary of State ordered the MBTA to release a sealed consultant's report on the botched Green Line extension, and the results are as frustrating as you might expect. MassDOT, the MBTA, and the firm they hired to manage the project ignored multiple signs that the project cost would vastly increase. Although the MBTA tends to get a lot of blame, remember that the…
"MBTA Update: Decision On Green Line Extension Likely This Spring, A Bit Of Good Budget News" (WBUR) "MBTA General Manager Frank DePaola told the T's fiscal control board during a meeting on Monday that the agency plans to have a scaled-down project design and a new budget estimate ready by April 7. DePaola said the agency would then create a new finance plan…
"Green Line project could be priciest effort for MBTA" (Boston Globe) "Based on a $3 billion overall price tag, the 4.7-mile project would cost $642 million per mile. That would be significantly higher than the reported costs of four other major extension projects, a Globe analysis found." "The Green Line extension's price tag is also high when compared with other similar…
Over a year ago, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) pledged $996.1 million in "New Starts" grant funds for the design and construction of the Green Line Extension. While we and many others fight for the Green Line, it's important to know exactly what's in that federal agreement - in part, to make sure our state doesn't throw away that kind of money. Through a…
"Community fights to save GLX" (Somerville Journal) "As Gov. Charlie Baker has demanded cuts to the project, some city officials are considering taking out a bond to help pay for a portion of the GLX, while other community advocates say they would prefer the state drastically reconfigure the project as a whole rather than have the taxpayers subsidize it."
"Pursue creative funding for Green Line extension" (editorial) "The state already has a legal obligation to build the extension, and it seems unfair to come back to Cambridge, Somerville, and Medford now and demand they chip in. But waiting for the state to come through on commitments made in 1990 has been a losing proposition."
"DeLeo hopeful state won't 'completely abandon' GLX project" (State House News Service) "I think we're probably going to see some type of compromise. I don't think we can abandon the project altogether," DeLeo said. "On the same token, I'm not sure we can go as far as we wanted to or we would have liked because as you probably have seen…
Dear Secretary Pollack,
We appreciate your efforts to address the recent Green Line Extension (GLX) cost escalation. As community representatives we have long been engaged in constructively contributing toward the completion of the GLX, which will transform transportation in our communities and the Metro Boston region. We plan to continue to work with you, the MBTA and MassDOT to ensure that the costs can be reduced so that the project can proceed. We understand that this will delay the project’s completion, but we acknowledge that undertaking additional value engineering and redesign, creating an improved procurement strategy and method, and installing new project management are essential.
One aspect of the project that we want assurance from you will not change is the robust community process that has been a hallmark of this project for more than a decade. A good public process will not only lead to an ultimately superior project, but it is a benefit to all taxpayers.
"Cities, developers seek specifics before offering up Green Line cash" (Boston Globe) 'We need to get to a budget that's transparent and clear," said Mayor Joseph Curtatone of Somerville, a longtime supporter of the project. "Until then, we're not at a point where we can ask [developers] for a particular number."
GLX UPDATE This week, the MassDOT and MBTA Fiscal Management and Control Boards drew a line in the sand about the Green Line Extension (GLX). They said that the GLX should move forward only if these three conditions are met, and we agree with every single one: The project needs to be redesigned to reduce cost substantially while maintaining core functionality.…