Tracking Transportation

Keeping track of transportation

Baker cautious on North-South rail link

Governor doesn't buy key claim of Dukakis, Weld

By Bruce Mohl MBTA 2 Comments Sep 9, 2015

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(...)

Once again, MBTA maps out growing budget deficits

Gap would hit $427 million in four years with costs outpacing revenues

By Andy Metzger MBTA, State Government, Taxes and Budget Issues, Transportation 1 Comment Sep 9, 2015

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(...)

The Dukakis-Weld rail link

What’s their rationale for another Big Dig?

By Bruce Mohl Bill Weld, Mike Dukakis, Transportation 1 Comment Sep 3, 2015

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(...)

MBTA’s ‘good repair’ cost rises to $7.3b

Number was $6.7b last winter, $3.1b in 2009

By Andy Metzger MBTA 2 Comments Aug 31, 2015

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.(...)

T control board may hire Green Line consultant

Want outsider to trace the cause of spiraling costs

By Gabrielle Gurley MBTA 3 Comments Aug 31, 2015

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(...)

T spin on the Green Line Ext.

In June emails, official said 'nothing has changed'

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 1 Comment Aug 27, 2015

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(...)

Stay the course on Green Line Ext.

But streamline the project and install new managers

By James Aloisi MBTA 6 Comments Aug 25, 2015

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.(...)

Green Line extension endangered

Officials eye killing long-planned project as costs balloon

By Andy Metzger MBTA, Transportation 3 Comments Aug 24, 2015

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(...)

Funds are there for North-South Rail Link

Advancement in technology and added revenues justify the cost

By Michael Dukakis Massachusetts politics, Transportation 6 Comments Aug 20, 2015

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(...)

Getting smart about transportation spending

Mass. taking big step forward with system that will score proposed projects

By Rafael Mares and Maddie Ribble 0 Comments Aug 4, 2015

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.(...)