Green Line Extension Meeting May 14th

Photo by Alexander Svirsky, MassRoads.com.

– Allison Goldsberry

MassDOT and the MBTA are hosting two public meetings in May to provide an update on the design of four stations of the Green Line Extension (GLX) project, according to information recently released by the state. On May 14 a public meeting about the Ball Square and College Avenue Stations will be held from 6-8PM at St. Clement School, 579 Boston Avenue. A meeting is also taking place on May 21 about the Lowell Street & Gilman Square Stations.

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