Feds to Pitch in Nearly $1 Billion for Green Line Extension

Photo by Alexander Svirsky, MassRoads.com.

– Allison Goldsberry

The federal government has agreed to contribute nearly $1 billion to extend the Green Line to Medford and Somerville, according to The Boston Globe.

The money will cover around forty percent of the total cost of the project, which is now expected to top $2 billion. Construction has already begun, including a partial demolition of the Harvard Street Rail Bridge in Medford.

According to The Globe, the latest completion date for the project is 2020.

Currently, two stations are planned for Medford, one in Ball Square on the Medford/Somerville line and another in the Medford Hillside neighborhood on College Avenue. The once $600 million project is now estimated to cost over $2 billion. And that’s just for six planned stops. The seventh, a stop at Route 16, could cost another $130 million, pushing the total cost of the project to over $2 billion.