GOV. CHARLIE BAKER told two of his predecessors on Wednesday that he and his staff would explore a proposed rail link between North and South Stations, but he appeared to reject one of their central arguments. Former governors Michael Dukakis and Bill Weld say the state has to deal with severe congestion at North and […]
Tracking Transportation
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
Once again, MBTA maps out growing budget deficits
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE MBTA HAS sketched out a growing deficit within its transit system that would balloon to $427 million in four years, as expenses far outpace growth in ridership and revenue. News of the looming budget deficits arrived two years after the Democrat-controlled Legislature attempted to finance transportation through a 3-cent gas […]
Posted inThe Back Story, Transportation
The Dukakis-Weld rail link
FORMER GOVERNORS Mike Dukakis and Bill Weld are heading up to Beacon Hill next week to put a rail link between North and South stations on Gov. Charlie Baker’s radar. Dukakis cooked up the Democrat-Republican collaboration, reaching out to Weld, who serves with him on the board of the Boston Harbor Island Alliance. Weld, of […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
MBTA’s ‘good repair’ cost rises to $7.3b
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE COST OF BRINGING the MBTA’s trains, stations, tracks and other assets into good working condition has only grown larger with closer scrutiny, rising to $7.3 billion, according to a presentation on Monday. That is $651 million larger than the $6.7 billion state-of-good-repair backlog Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack reported last winter. […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
T control board may hire Green Line consultant
THE MBTA FISCAL AND MANAGEMENT CONTROL BOARD’S lack of confidence in the transit agency’s ability to build the Green Line Extension to Somerville and West Medford plunged to new lows Tuesday as the board members signaled their interest in possibly recruiting an outside firm to analyze the current cost overruns and develop new project management […]
Posted inThe Back Story, Transportation
T spin on the Green Line Ext.
I heard the cost of the Green Line Extension was spinning out of control in early June, but I had no proof and ended up not writing anything. That’s my bad. But my back-and-forth with the MBTA on the issue, all captured in emails, is nevertheless very revealing about the mindset of government officials, and […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
Stay the course on Green Line Ext.
THE DISCLOSURE OF A BREATHTAKING potential billion-dollar cost overrun for the proposed Green Line Extension was unwelcome news. Not only did it take everyone by surprise, it undermined confidence in the MBTA and threatened a project that under any and all circumstances would pass the test for a prudent and necessary expansion of the system. […]
Posted inState House News Service, Transportation
Green Line extension endangered
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE COST SET set by the Green Line Extension contractor for the first three stations is more than double the amount state and federal transit officials recently estimated, calling into question the full price tag of the new trolley line and whether the state can afford to build it. Recently estimated […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
Funds are there for North-South Rail Link
THE NEXT TIME you decide to write about a major transportation project that two former governors strongly support and in which they were deeply involved during their terms in the corner office, please do us the favor of getting in touch with us first before you write a column like the one that appeared in CommonWealth on […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
Getting smart about transportation spending
MAKING DECISIONS ABOUT transportation spending is a little like shopping for dinner at the supermarket. Chances are that you considered a number of factors before you got to the checkout counter. You consulted nutrition labels and compared prices. You planned around your family’s individual preferences and health needs and considered how foods would pair up. […]