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Monday, March 11, 2013

Monday: Somerville Hosts Meeting on Ethanol Trains

The trains could bring 1.8 million gallons worth of ethanol through Somerville's borders twice a week.

Somerville is hosting a pubilc meeting on ethanol trains Monday. The meeting, organized by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, will provide information about plans to ship ethanol on trains—dubbed "bomb trains" by some activists—through Somerville, Cambridge, Boston, Chelsea, Everett and other communities on their way to the Global Oil terminal in Revere. Ethanol is used as a fuel additive in gasoline. The Somerville Board of Aldermen has opposed the trains, which could bring 1.8 million gallons of ethanol twice a week along Commuter Rail lines past dense neighborhoods in the city. Members of the Board of Aldermen and activists elsewhere have argued the trains are dangerous. Other communities have also opposed the trains. The …

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Ethanol Trains Through Somerville Under Scrutiny, Meeting Wednesday Night

Dubbed "bomb trains" by some activists, the ethanol freight trains could roll through the heart of Somerville twice a week, each time with 1.8 million gallons of the volatile liquid on board.

Trains that would each carry about 1.8 million gallons of ethanol and might travel through the heart of Somerville at least twice a week are the subject of a study by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. MassDOT is holding a meeting about the trains, dubbed "bomb trains" by some activists, Wednesday night in East Boston. The trains would deliver about 187 million gallons of ethanol, a volatile and inflammable alcohol used as an additive to gasoline, each year to the Global Oil terminal in Revere. In doing so, the trains would travel through about 25 Massachusetts cities and towns, including Somerville, Cambridge, Boston, Chelsea and Everett. Somerville has joined Chelsea, Revere and other communities in opposing the ethanol …

robert g

7:39 pm on Wednesday, February 6, 2013

By federal law trains have the right of way. If the town doesn't like it they should move. The town has no choice. Of course it can always go by truck through the town.   more ›

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

I-93 South To Close Overnight

The major highway through Boston will close due to work on the Zakim Bridge and the O’Neill tunnel.

A major Boston highway will close overnight to make way for work on the Zakim Bridge and O’Neill Tunnel. The Department of Transportation will shut down the southbound side of I-93 between 11 p.m. Tuesday night and 5 a.m. Wednesday morning, according to CBS Boston. MassDOT will divert traffic at the Route 38 Mystic Avenue exit, and drivers will be able to continue on I-93 at the exit near South Station, the news website reports.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

‘Conversation’ on Public Transportation's Future Draws Array of Thoughts

At a meeting held Tuesday in Medford, some offered complaints, kudos and ideas.

Fares recently went up on the MBTA, but so did ridership across public transportation modes, according to Jonathan Davis, acting general manager of the transit authority. Davis spoke Tuesday at a public meeting about the future of public transportation in Massachusetts.  The meeting, organized by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, was part of a statewide series designed to get opinions and thoughts from residents about what they want in their transportation system statewide. Tuesday's meeting was held at the McGlynn Middle School in Medford. MassDOT is also soliciting support for public transportation, Davis told Patch after the meeting. The state, currently, cannot afford the transportation network is has, Davis told the …

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AHM

9:27 pm on Friday, November 30, 2012

Good one. First decent thing I have heard anyone say on this. I was only thinking about where they thought all this money was going to come from when we have all thsi debt. Simple would be better. Makes too much sense so we know they won't do that.   more ›

Friday, September 28, 2012

Should the State Install High-Speed Tolls on I-93?

Asked about toll fairness during a Patch live chat, Governor Deval Patrick asked a reader whether he'd support high-speed tolls. Are these a good way to share the transportation funding pain, or another money grab?

Are high-speed tolls along Interstate 93 and other highways a smart way to help fund transportation in the state? Governor Deval Patrick mentioned such a system during a Patch live chat on Thursday. If you've gone up Interstate 95 into New Hampshire, you've seen high-speed tolling in action. The system is designed to read your EZ-Pass (nee Fast Lane) transponder while you breeze by at 65 miles per hour. There's no need to slow down or squeeze though a booth, as EZ-Pass users currently do on the Mass Pike, Tobin Bridge and harbor tunnels. The chat moved on to other topics, so no details about implementation were offered. What do you think? Would tolls along I-93 offer some fairness to riders in Boston, MetroWest and North Shore, who all pay…

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Vincent DiRico

11:07 am on Monday, October 8, 2012

yup, none better ;) http://boston.com/metrodesk/2012/10/05/holiday-frenzy-causes-mile-backup-mass-turnpike-state-police-say/SpQXU0MOWQkRQ7SdWWgBcP/story.html   more ›

Thursday, September 13, 2012

MassDOT Board Authorizes $45 Million Green Line Extension Design Contract

Meeting in Somerville, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation Board of Directors approved a contract that will help the Green Line Extension apply for federal funding.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation Board of Directors, meeting in Somerville, voted Wednesday to authorize a $45 million contract for design of the Green Line Extension. "This is actually beginning to put meat on the bone," said MassDOT Secretary Richard Davey after the vote, speaking about how the design effort will progress with the contract in place. "It's a great step forward for the project today," he said. The contract, awarded to AECOM Technical Services, Inc. and HNTB Corporation, is for advanced preliminary and final design services on the Green Line Extension. As part of the contract, the design team will prepare documents that will be used in the next stage of the state's application for federal funding.  In spring …

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Chris Orchard

6:45 pm on Friday, September 14, 2012

Brownies with any "special" ingredients? It could make the fundraising go faster.   more ›

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

MassDOT Board to Discuss $45 Million Green Line Contract in Somerville Wednesday

Somerville's mayor will also speak at the meeting, according to an agenda.

The newly expanded Massachusetts Department of Transportation Board of Directors is scheduled to meet in Somerville Wednesday. Gov. Deval Patrick expanded the Board of Directors from five members to seven members, and Wednesday's meeting in Somerville will be the new board's first meeting, according to an announcement from MassDOT. New members Alan G. Macdonald and Joseph C. Bonfiglio will join former members, John R. Jenkins, Ferdinand Alvaro, Janice Loux and Andrew Whittle, on the newly made-up board, the announcement says. MassDOT Secretary Richard A. Davey serves as an ex-officio member. On the agenda is a $45 million Green Line Extension contract with AECOM Technical Services, Inc. and HNTB Corporation to conduct advanced preliminary/…

Monday, August 27, 2012

Should 1950s-Era Overpasses Come Down?

The state is deciding if other Boston neighborhoods will get the treatment Jamaica Plain is receiving — tearing down 1950s-era overpasses in favor of surface roads.

Urban planners no longer love the idea of putting elevated roadways through urban centers. Even so, the state plans to spend millions of dollars shoring up two such overpasses — the McCarthy Overpass in Somerville, which carries the McGrath Highway, and the Bowker Overpass in Back Bay and Kenmore Square, which carries Storrow drive into Fenway — while they decide whether to tear them down and replace them with surface roads. Somerville Patch asked in a poll "Should McGrath Highway be torn down?" and 82 percent of those who responded agreed with the statement, "Yes. It's a crumbling, dangerous curse on Somerville. One reader, Alex, called it the "Brown Monster" and said, "McGrath Highway is to East Somerville what the Berlin Wall was to …

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Michael J Wade

11:06 am on Tuesday, August 28, 2012

In the 40's the population was 25,000 more than it is now.   more ›

Monday, August 13, 2012

Part of Holland Street to Be Closed Aug. 19 to 22

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation is installing a raised crosswalk at the Holland Street MBTA station.

The following is an announcement from the city of Somerville: MassDOT is scheduled to install a raised crosswalk on Holland Street at the MBTA Station. Weather permitting, construction will begin on Sunday, August 19th at approximately 2:00 a.m. and continue through Wednesday, August 22nd.  During this period, the Buena Vista Parking Lot will remain open. However no vehicular traffic will be allowed on Holland Street from Winter Street to Dover Street. Please adhere to all posted detour signs, no-parking signs and flashing message boards. Call 311 for more information including temporary MBTA bus route changes. Thank you for your cooperation and patience during this important community improvement program.

Friday, August 3, 2012

Agreement Says Union Square Green Line Station Operational by 2017

In an agreement with the MBTA and MassDOT, the city of Somerville will buy land in Union Square for the station in exchange for a commitment that the station be operational no later than early 2017.

The city, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the MBTA have entered into a memorandum of agreement regarding the future Union Square Green Line station, according to an announcement sent by the city Friday afternoon. According to the announcement, the city will purchase land in Union Square for the station and then grant a permanent easement to the MBTA. As part of the agreement, the MBTA and MassDOT commit to beginning construction on the station no later than spring of 2014 and making it operational by late 2016 or early 2017. The announcement is below, and you can read the memorandum of agreement in the photos section of this article. Here are some of the key points, according to the announcement: Here's the announcement…

Ivan

2:59 pm on Monday, August 6, 2012

Does anyone see a problem with a city that's heavily in debt paying $8 million for land and turning it over to the MBTA. Who's paying for this. As it is IKEA has left. Assembly Sq is going to be a big section 8 housing development. Waste Management was paying a huge share of the property tax revenue the city receives. Looks like the house of cards is falling. Joe want's be be remembered as a …   more ›

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