MBTA Proposes Interim Plans in Lieu of Green Line Extension

Ideas include brining the Commuter Rail to Union Square, increasing the frequency of buses, free Charlie Cards, lowering the speed limit on highways and letting solo drivers in electric or hybrid cars use the HOV lane.

Facing a court order to mitigate vehicle emissions by 2014, the MBTA is offering interim solutions as it works toward its long-term goal of extending the Green Line through Somerville into Medford. The transit department released a lengthy list of possible interim solutions Monday. They ranged from more frequent bus services to creating bike lanes on Route 28 to free or cheap Charlie Cards for riders living within the mitigation area. "These ideas have not been endorsed or accepted by MassDOT," a MassDOT statement said. "These assessments will next need to be formally analyzed, using the air quality modeling methodologies of the Central Transportation Planning Staff." The Green Line Extension was originally expected to be completed by 2011…

•  5 Comments
• Photos (1)
• Documents (1)

Green Line Extension Takes Step Forward With Feds

The project has been added to the Federal Transit Administration's 'New Starts' pipeline.

The Green Line Extension moved one step closer Monday toward the goal of federal funding, though there is no guarantee the federal government will eventually cough up money to help pay for the project. According to a letter sent Monday by the Federal Transit Administration to Richard Davey, secretary of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, the Green Line Extension has been added to the pipeline of projects in the federal administration's New Starts program. The letter says the Green Line Extension has permission from the administration to enter the "preliminary engineering" phase of planning. This puts the proposed Green Line Extension on a master list of transportation projects across the country the Federal Transit …

•  4 Comments
• Photos (1)

'Knock The Thing Down,' Says Globe Writer About McGrath Highway

Boston Globe Columnist Paul McMorrow argues MassDOT is looking at Somerville's McGrath Highway with an outdated mindset.

Spirited Crowd Asks MassDOT to Demolish McGrath ASAP

Attendees at a community meeting debated back and forth with state transportation officials about tearing down the McGrath Highway overpass.

"I'll be dead," a woman from the back of the crowd shouted Thursday night during a community meeting about the future of the McGrath Highway, talking about when the highway's overpass might be torn down. "For 11 million bucks, I could take it down," a man commented after a presentation given by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. Nearly 130 people, maybe more, attended Thursday's meeting about McGrath Highway, held at the Argenziano School, and nearly everyone in the crowd, it seemed, wanted the state to tear down the rusty old highway immediately. Instead, MassDOT has plans to spend about $11 million in short-term repairs to the roadway while making longer-term plans to ultimately tear it down and build a street-level city …

•  10 Comments
• Photos (1)

Somerville Patch Readers Want McGrath Highway Torn Down

Nearly 82 percent of respondents want the highway overpass taken down to street level.

One reader, Alex, called it the "Brown Monster" and said, "McGrath Highway is to East Somerville what the Berlin Wall was to East Berlin. Tear down this highway!" Another reader, Julia Prange Wallerce, said, "[T]here is no reason why we should be living under the shadow of this ugly and divisive structure." Those comments seem to speak for most Somerville Patch readers, the majority of whom would like the state to tear down the McGrath Highway Overpass, according to results of a poll. We originally posted the poll in September of 2011, and we posted it again on Wednesday in anticipation of a meeting about McGrath Highway scheduled for Thurdasy night. The poll asked, "Should McGrath Highway be torn down?" As of Wednesday night, 82 percent …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)

POLL: MBTA's Fare and Service Changes in Somerville

Are you happy with the MBTA's recommendations for fare hikes and service changes?

On Wednesday, the MBTA and Massachusetts Department of Transportation announced recommendations for closing a $161 million budget gap in fiscal year 2013, which begins on July 1. The recommendation uses fare increases, one-time payments from the state, administrative changes and some service cuts and reductions to balance the budget. In January, the MBTA had proposed two different scenarios for closing the budget gap, and those scenarios called for even more fare increases and service cuts. Before issuing its recommendations Wednesday, MassDOT solicited feedback from the public, and according to a MassDOT report, the transit authority held 25 meetings and 6 public hearings; 5,800 people attended the gatherings, 1800 people spoke, and 5800 …

•  2 Comments
• Photos (1)

Fast14 Construction Survey: The Feds Want to Know What You Think

Last summer, during weekends, the state replaced 14 bridges on Interstate 93. The project has drawn attention from across the country. Take a survey to tell federal authorities what you think.

You may remember last summer's Fast14 bridge project on Interstate 93 in Somerville, Medford and points north. Over weekends, workers shut down lanes of the highway, re-directed traffic into opposing lanes and temporarily reconfigured exits. As a result, workers replaced 14 bridges over the course of one summer while keeping the highway open during workdays. State authorities have said transportation officials around the country are looking at the project as a new way of doing things. Now, the Federal Highway Administration and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation want to know what you think. They're asking residents to take a survey to measure satisfaction with the project. Those interested can take the survey here or visit www.…

• Photos (1)

MassDOT Secretary Speaks to Somerville Chamber of Commerce

Richard Davey outlined the state's transportation challenges and discussed some recent successful initiatives.

Saying he was a friend to the Somerville community, Richard Davey, secretary of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, spoke to the Somerville Chamber of Commerce Tuesday morning, outlining some of the transportation challenges facing Massachusetts. The talk was held at the Holiday Inn on Washington Street. The state's current transportation system—roads, bridges, trains, etc.—"is one we can't afford," Davey said, and "certainly" the state cannot afford the improved transportation system it desires. The transportation system, "all in," faces a $1.3 billion annual deficit, he said, partly due to a structural budget deficit at the MBTA, the cost of maintaining and repairing the MBTA system, the cost of borrowing to pay salaries in …

•  3 Comments
• Photos (1)

Chris Orchard

4:30 pm on Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Lucas, coincidentally this report makes a similar argument (I just posted something about it); maybe it would interest you: http://somerville.patch.com/articles/mbta-service-cuts-would-hurt-boston-economy-says-report Joe, believe it or not, the Green Line wasn't even brought up. I was surprised.   more ›

Assembly Square Orange Line Station to Open in 2014

The state awarded a $29 million contract to a Lowell firm to construct the station.

The new Orange Line MBTA stop at Assembly Square is expected to open in 2014, and the state has awarded the construction contract to the Lowell firm S&R Construction Co., Inc., according to a press release from the city of Somerville. Construction on the new station—the first new MBTA rapid transit station to be built since 1987, when several stations on the Orange Line in Roxbury and Jamaica Plain opened—will begin this fall. The construction contract, awarded by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, is worth $29,229,184, according to the press release. The Assembly Square Orange Line station will be Somerville's second MBTA station (currently, Somerville's only station is the Davis Square station on the Red Line). It will be …

• Photos (1)

Letter to the Editor

OPINION: 'Ground McGrath Now'

The author, Steven Nutter, argues the state shouldn't wait to take down the McGrath Highway.

The author, Steven Nutter, a Winter Hill resident, is a member of the Grounding McGrath Working Group and Livable Streets, although the following commentary represents his personal opinion and not the opinions of those groups:  On Tuesday, September 20th, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation held their first public meeting on the current status of their planning study on the McGrath Highway. The study, now renamed "Grounding McGrath," comes out of several years of efforts by the city of Somerville and others to "fix" the McGrath Highway. For a long time, all the clamoring by those that have to deal with an outdated and inefficient design, whose intersections and connections form a roller coaster-like road, did not produce much …

•  7 Comments
• Photos (1)

AHM

3:21 pm on Saturday, May 18, 2013

Exactly. We could never get accross before it was built. Traffic was a nightmare here and we had fewer cars on the road back then. That ugly structure was a big relief to the problems. Whatever they do will have no effect on me anymore but it will for the people in the area.   more ›