118 replies to this topic

[KevinKorell]

Progressive Railroading, 5/16/14:

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation's (MassDOT) board recently approved awarding a contract to CAF USA Inc. to provide 24 rail cars for the Green Line Extension (GLX) project.

This is the story.

[KevinKorell]

Progressive Railroading, 6/20/14:

Earlier this week, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) launched the Massachusetts Workforce Initiative Now (MassWIN) Green Line Extension (GLX) Workforce Development program to recruit, train and place community members in transportation-related careers.

Here is the story.

[CNJRoss]

USDOT "Fast Lane" Blog, 8/7:

Workforce development opportunities begin before new transit service even starts

Posted by Therese McMillan, Acting Administrator. FTA

Monday, I met Brian Orellana, a young man who lives in Somerville, Massachusetts, and dreams of becoming an electrician. He may just get the break he needs thanks to an innovative workforce development program that’s tied to the construction of Boston’s Green Line Extension – a new transit line that will serve his neighborhood.

In fact, the cities of Somerville, Medford, and Cambridge have all joined the MassWIN partnership, along with Boston’s transit agency, the Massachusetts DOT, and local businesses and community colleges. They’ve recognized that opportunity begins, not on the day the new rail service will open, but with the construction itself.

MassWIN draws on the experience of the successful WIN program in Denver. That program put hundreds of people from the Denver region to work learning the construction trade and all the other jobs that go into building big transportation projects, such as the city's much-celebrated Union Station renovation.

Read more here.

[KevinKorell]

Boston, MA Globe, 12/2/14:

 

US pledges nearly $1b for Green Line extension

 

The federal government this week pledged nearly $1 billion to help finance the expansion of the Green Line from Cambridge into Somerville and Medford, a major boost for the long-promised transit project.

This story

[CNJRoss]

USDOT/FTA news release, 1/5:

 

U.S. Transportation Secretary Foxx Announces $996 Million Grant Agreement to Expand Green Line Light Rail Service in Boston Area

 

SOMERVILLE, Mass. – U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx today announced a $996 million federal grant agreement to extend Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line light rail service from East Cambridge to Somerville and Medford. The extension will provide faster and more efficient travel to jobs in downtown Boston and will serve some of the region’s most densely populated communities.

 

Secretary Foxx and Acting Federal Transit Administrator Therese McMillan participated in a ceremony to commit the funds with Governor Deval Patrick, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Congressman Michael Capuano, representatives from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) and MBTA, and other officials.

 

“This project will put time back in the lives of commuters along this corridor, but the real story is about the potential for change this smart investment will bring for residents,” said Secretary Foxx. “We are proud to support projects like this one  because when you connect people to more jobs, education, and medical care, you create the ladders to opportunity that strengthen families and the communities in which they live.”

 

The 4.7-mile light rail extension will extend existing MBTA Green Line service from a relocated Lechmere Station in East Cambridge to Union Square in Somerville and College Avenue in Medford. The project will serve some of the Boston region’s most heavily populated areas not currently served by rail transit – where 26 percent of residents do not own or have access to cars.

 

“The Green Line extension will improve transit options for residents of Somerville and Medford by eliminating the need for bus to rail transfers and providing a one-seat transit ride to thousands of jobs in downtown Boston and along the Green Line,” said Acting Federal Transit Administrator McMillan. “This project will make a huge difference for thousands of residents along the corridor who need and deserve reliable access to jobs and educational opportunities throughout the Boston metropolitan area.”

 

The U.S. Department of Transportation will contribute approximately $996 million in Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Capital Investment Grant Program (New Starts) funding over the course of the $2.3 billion project. State funding sources will cover the remainder.

 

MBTA estimates the new extended light rail line will provide approximately 37,900 daily trips when the extension opens in 2021. The project will include construction of six new stations, purchase of 24 new light rail vehicles, construction of a new vehicle maintenance facility, construction of a community bicycle and pedestrian path in Somerville, and relocation of some existing commuter rail track.

###

[CNJRoss]

USDOT "Fast Lane" blog, 1/5:

 

MBTA Green Line Extension a glimpse of what’s needed –and possible– nationwide

Posted by

Anthony Foxx

 

Earlier today, I had the opportunity to welcome students returning to Somerville High School in Massachusetts after their winter break. Actually, I was there to announce a Federal Transit Administration agreement to help fund the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line Extension from East Cambridge to Somerville and Medford. But it was entirely fitting to make the announcement at a local high school.

 

I’m the grandson of teachers who, like so many teachers, went above and beyond their job descriptions because they understood that they were paving the way for a new generation to go further. That's what education is about. And it's also what transportation is about.

 

Transportation connects us to a world beyond our own immediate neighborhood, and when that world is where the jobs, the education, the key services --the opportunities-- are, then that access becomes a lifeline.

 

 

Which is precisely why DOT is getting behind the MBTA Green Line extension with a nearly $1 billion funding commitment. It's a commitment to help make a difference in people's lives by creating a faster, more reliable way to reach jobs and opportunities in nearby Boston.

 

And it will make a difference.  Because a lot of people in Somerville and Medford ride the bus, or they take the subway.  One out of four residents don’t own a car.  And they look out their windows and see trains pass right through their neighborhoods…without stopping.

 

Well, with the Green Line Extension, trains will stop in Somerville; they will stop in Medford. And the residents of this community will have reliable, one-seat access to jobs and opportunities along the Green Line and in downtown Boston. When complete, MBTA estimates the line will provide approximately 37,900 daily trips.

 

 

We’re very proud to be part of this effort, but we must do more. When we look at our country’s larger transportation needs, we’re not going above and beyond, like my grandfather did and like the teachers at Somerville High School do today. We’re not even keeping up.

 

The backlog of needed transit repairs nationwide has actually grown bigger than the entire transportation budget for our roads, rails, runways, ports, and pipelines.

 

And unfortunately, 2015 is beginning much like the previous year.  Unless Congress takes action on this by springtime, the funding source that supports efforts similar to the Green Line Extension will again start running dry.

 

That's why last spring, we sent Congress a bill, the GROW AMERICA Act, that would increase our investment in all forms of transportation, including a 70 percent boost for transit. It's why we spent much of the past year urging Americans to join us in making a push to pass a long-term funding solution for transportation.

 

And it's why we're beginning the New Year with similar urgency.

 

The students I met today at Somerville High School --and those across America-- will need access to the jobs and opportunities outside their neighborhoods, so they can go further, and we have a responsibility to ensure they have a working transportation system that takes them farther.

 

I hope you'll join us in asking the new Congress to help us fulfill that responsibility.

[KevinKorell]

Progressive Railroading, 1/6/15:

MBTA receives $996 million in New Starts grants for Green Line extension

 

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx yesterday announced a $996 million federal grant agreement to extend the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA) Green Line light-rail service from East Cambridge to Somerville and Medford, Mass.

More

[CNJRoss]

Progressive Railroading, 4/30/15:
 

MBTA, MassDOT slate hearings on Green Line Extension station designs

 

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) will host two public meetings in May to give an update on the design of four stations as part of its Green Line Extension project.

 

Held in conjunction with the the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), the meetings are scheduled for May 14 and 21.

 

Continue here.

[KevinKorell]

Progressive Railroading, 12/14/15:

MBTA to terminate several Green Line Extension contracts

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) is ending current contracts with several firms working on its Green Line Extension project as it searches for ways to trim costs, General Manager Frank DePaola announced late last week.

More

[KevinKorell]

Boston, MA Herald, 1/26/16:
 

 

Board OKs $6M to study stalled Green Line plan

The MBTA’s Fiscal Management and Control Board yesterday approved contracts of up to $6 million in hopes the beleaguered Green Line extension project — which saw costs skyrocket $1 billion over budget — will get back on track.

 

Update