Tracking Transportation

Keeping track of transportation

Rate of deterioration on Turnpike called exponential

Expect lane closures at nights, on weekends for 2 years

By Bruce Mohl Transportation 0 Comments Jun 3, 2021

STATE TRANSPORTATION officials said the elevated section of the Massachusetts Turnpike between Boston University and the Charles River is deteriorating at an exponential rate. Michael O’Dowd, the Department of Transportation’s director of the I-90 Allston project, said a hands-on, six-week inspection of the roadway in February determined it is in serious trouble. To illustrate the(...)

On Allston project, tone changes but challenges remain

Highway official vows to work with advocates on all-at-grade approach

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments Jun 3, 2021

STATE TRANSPORTATION officials sounded a more optimistic tone Thursday night about reaching a consensus on a design for the Allston I-90 interchange project, but they continued to insist on options that made reaching an agreement difficult. At a meeting with the Allston I-90 task force, the officials indicated they wanted to collaborate with advocates to(...)

T contract at odds with earlier statements by Pollack, Poftak

Agency moves ahead with initial design of commuter rail facility

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments May 26, 2021

ON MONDAY, at the tail end of a four-hour meeting, the MBTA’s Fiscal and Management Control Board quickly approved a nearly $9 million contract to begin initial design work on a commuter rail maintenance and layover facility in Readville in the southeast corner of Boston. The vote attracted little attention, but the accompanying briefing materials(...)

As T board nears its end, consensus proving elusive

Finding common ground on fare issues is difficult

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments May 26, 2021

AFTER NEARLY six years, the MBTA’s Fiscal and Management Control Board is coming to an end. Two meetings are scheduled for June, and then the board will shut down. Some sort of replacement board is likely to emerge over the next month on Beacon Hill, possibly with some of the current members, but there are(...)

A remarkable turnaround for Green Line extension

Once plagued by $1b in cost overruns, project now under budget

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments May 25, 2021

CONFIDENCE APPEARS to be mounting at the MBTA that the nearly $2.3 billion Green Line extension project will come in under budget, allowing Somerville and Cambridge to recover the combined $75 million they donated to the initiative in 2016 and still leave money left over for other needs. Joe Aiello, the chair of the MBTA’s(...)

T notes: Impasse over fare evasion fines

Service levels going up, crowding standards getting scrapped

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments May 24, 2021

FOR THE SECOND STRAIGHT meeting, the MBTA’s Fiscal and Management Control Board and T staff couldn’t reach consensus on what the fines should be for fare evasion. The current fines are $100 for a first offense, $200 for a second offense, and $600 for a third or subsequent offenses. T staff on May 10 recommended(...)

Janey announces free service on Route 28 bus

Acting mayor touts city initiative with MBTA, but no plan has been finalized

By Michael Jonas 0 Comments May 24, 2021

WHEN THE QUESTIONING at a forum on Monday for Boston mayoral candidates turned to the idea of free fares on the MBTA for low-income residents, Acting Mayor Kim Janey didn’t just voice support for the idea, she announced the launch of a program to do it. Janey said free service is coming for riders of(...)

T board divided on means-tested fares

Split over launching pilot project next year

By Bruce Mohl MBTA, Transportation 0 Comments May 24, 2021

MBTA OFFICIALS on Monday offered up a potential timetable and an estimate of costs for offering discounted fares to low-income riders, but the T’s oversight board appeared split on the best way to proceed. Two members of the five-member Fiscal and Management Control Board – Brian Lang and Monica Tibbits-Nutt — said they favored moving(...)

WRTA votes to continue fare-free operations

Decision will be reviewed in another 6 months

By Bruce Mohl Transportation 0 Comments May 20, 2021

THE ADVISORY BOARD of the Worcester Regional Transit Authority voted on Thursday to extend fare-free operations at least another six months until early next year. The vote was unanimous, although the board chair, William Lehtola, and the authority’s administrator, Dennis Lipka, opposed the move. Lehtola abstained on the vote. The move is another victory for(...)

What’s next for controversial Northampton roundabout?

MassDOT terminated construction contract over archeological concerns

By Shira Schoenberg Transportation 0 Comments May 19, 2021

THE MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT of Transportation has terminated a construction contract for a controversial roundabout in Northampton, after neighbors and some Native American tribal representatives raised concerns that the project would disturb an ancient archeological site. But the project’s opponents are not yet declaring victory, saying they do not know how and if state officials will(...)