‘Brutal’ Cutbacks Anticipated to Keep Green Line Extension Alive

– Allison Goldsberry

The fate of the Green Line extension to Medford and Somerville was discussed at a meeting of the MBTA’s fiscal control board, according to The Boston Globe.

“Brutal” cutbacks will need to be made to keep the project viable, as the total cost of the project was underestimated by about $1 billion. In May the fiscal control board will discuss whether to move forward with the Green Line extension.

The fate of the project has been in question since the fiscal management board discovered in August that project costs could exceed more than $1 billion than expected.

Conditions for keeping the Green Line extension viable include cutting costs through redesigning stations and securing new management and contractors as well as seeking funding from the Boston Metropolitan Planning Organization, local communities, and developers.

In August, state transportation officials said they underestimated costs because estimates were done during the recession and separate contracts for several parts of the project have made things more expensive.

Construction has already begun on the Green Line extension, which the federal government has pledged to commit nearly $1 billion toward. In Medford, the Harvard Street rail bridge has been renovated to accommodate Green Line tracks, and Tufts University and local philanthropist Bill Cummings have plans to create academic space at the College Avenue Green Line Station.

Two Green Line stations are planned for Medford, one at College Avenue and one in Ball Square on the Medford/Somerville line. The once $600 million project is now estimated to cost upwards of $3 billion. And that’s just for six planned stops. The seventh, a stop at Route 16, could cost another $130 million.