By Noah Bierman
January 11, 2009
Shocking. A state transportation project is missing a deadline, prompting concerns about delays. Round up the usual suspects.
OK, so maybe it's not too surprising. But the Massachusetts Bay Turnpike Authority's Green Line extension to Somerville and Medford is worthy of attention - one of the state's highest priorities and among its most expensive public transit projects underway in the next few years.
Commuters, residents, and environmentalists are all awaiting key decisions, including how far into Medford the Green Line trolleys eventually will go. The project is such a high priority that Governor Deval Patrick has pledged state money to finish it by the end of 2014, even if the Commonwealth loses its bid to get federal funding for half the estimated $600 million cost.
State planners missed a December deadline to turn in an environmental review and then canceled a key meeting this month with an outside advisory committee. Members of the committee had been told that the meeting was a precursor to completing those environmental documents.
Project planners have promised to address some controversial questions at the meeting, including where they intend to build the line's final station. Residents of Medford are divided over the project, and there has been no official decision about whether to extend the line all the way to Route 16 or to terminate it about a mile sooner, at Tufts University.
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