Green Line Extension to Medford & Union Sq

[Equilibria]

I know this has probably been been discussed already but how the hell does it cost 3 billion dollars to put four miles of light rail tracks next to commuter rail tracks that already exist.

Simply? It doesn't. That was an imaginary number.

 

[datadyne007]

Simply? It doesn't. That was an imaginary number.

+1 Best succinct answer, tbh.

We can list reasons until we're blue in the face, but if the CM/GC procurement method hadn't been used, we'd be riding the GLX right now and it would have finished on budget.

 

[CantabAmager]

In comparison the city of Copenhagen Denmark is building a 3.5 billion dollar expansion of their metro system that includes 10 miles of underground track, self driving rail cars, and 17 stations. And this is a country where McDonalds workers get paid nearly 20 dollars an hour.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_Circle_Line

Yeah, it's even worse than that. Cityringen, along with two other under construction segments, and the already operational M1 and M2 lines were conceived first in 1989/1990 - the year that the first MOU was adopted by the EOT and the CLF. The project horizon for Cityringen and the two short spurs is 2025-2026, which in all likelihood is the date of completion for the full-GLX. So, it's actually 27 miles, 46 stations at a cost of 8-9.5 billion USD (Cityring has had some cost-overruns and serious - but nowhere near fatal - project management failures). The operational segments carry about 55-60 mil per year, but with Cityring the conservative estimates should bring it over 80-100 mil. In context, that's more the entire Green Line system. And it only serves Copenhagen and Frederiksberg, there's a host of other services.

Now, not to beat a dead horse...but there's also a 27 mile/28 station light-rail project underway in the first ring of inner-core suburbs surrounding Copenhagen that's projected to cost....400 million USD. Now, it's also a significantly easier project than GLX - only minor drainage work, mostly reserved median track, spartan stations, off-the-shelf rolling stock, but there are some tricky duck-unders where it connects to suburban rail service stations. It's not the technical difficulty of GLX, but then again GLX should not cost over 7 times as much, nor should the cost per mile inch over 40x as much regardless of the technical variability.

I don't mean to rep Denmark - they really aren't any better at project management or controlling costs and the Metro, for all it's benefits, could've been far better routed and the money spent on some spurs could've been allocated to other, in some cases more worthy, projects. They're just quicker. When the light-rail opens in 2020/2021, it'll mark 13 years worth of project conception, planning, funding, construction, and testing. That's the difference in all honesty and I think, unfortunately, that's being crowded by the criticism of cost-overruns. A 30-year project delivery period is more damning and more deleterious than the overruns, though they're both major issues obviously.

 

[datadyne007]

IMPORTANT meeting this Wednesday, April 13th at 5:30-9:00 at the Somerville High auditorium

The next GLX meeting is the place to be
On April 8, 2016, in Latest News, by The Somerville Times

By Joseph A. Curtatone

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries and letters to the Editor of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)

Let’s talk about where you’re going to be next Wednesday. That evening at the Somerville High auditorium we have a big community meeting with state officials concerning the Green Line extension. Everybody is welcome to attend and that is roughly the amount of people we’d like see there: everybody.

We may not be able to fit tens of thousands into the auditorium, but that’s the number of people this project affects. We’ve waited decades for the reintroduction of rail transit to the heart of our city. The work is under way. $700 million is already sunk in the project whether we build it or not. We have come too far and we are too close to having it operational not to bring it over the finish line. That’s why you need to be there. We want to emphasize the scope and importance of this project. And the decision makers need to hear it from you. I’ve been out talking and testifying about this over and over. But this is your meeting. We need your voice this time.

As we all know, state officials are working diligently to get the project’s budget under control. We fully support that effort. The good news is our interaction with state officials, from Governor Baker to Transportation Secretary Pollack to all the people on the MBTA team, has dealt with how we’re going to get this project done, not if. People have rolled up their sleeves and put in late hours to turn the GLX into a reality. We’re talking about extending an existing line along an existing right of way through the most densely populated city in New England with $1 billion in federal funds to help pay for the work. This puzzle can be solved.

It’s also critical from a regional perspective. The roadways in Greater Boston are choked with cars. We are the 6th-most congested region in the country. Just trying to get from Somerville to Boston and Cambridge has become a challenge. A completed GLX will shift 50,000 trips per day to public transit. That has an environmental impact too. Vehicle emissions from trips starting or ending in Somerville total roughly 250,000 tons of carbon into our atmosphere every year. Being a coastal region, the Boston area stands to lose more than most due to climate change. If we don’t drastically reduce our carbon footprint, then Boston is one of the cities that may not be around after the glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica melt. Dramatically increased public transit is essential to reducing our contribution to that melting.

Then there’s the jobs and economic growth attached to the project. Growth around the GLX is expected to total more than $4 billion in private investment, 30,000 permanent jobs, 30,000 construction jobs, 10,000 new homes and $3 billion in projected tax revenue by 2040. We talk a lot about jobs growth and economic vitality. Nothing will deliver more of that than the GLX. The return on investment for this project is extraordinary. It’s billions of dollars every year pumping through the Massachusetts economy. The key to unlocking that investment, those jobs and that growth is the Union Square stop. We have plans to turn it into a major innovation and creative center for our region. Not only will it be fantastic for Somerville, but it will be an economic engine pumping money into the whole of Massachusetts.

Ultimately we need the GLX to deliver all of the promised stops. Union Square may be a critical economic juncture, but we have residents and small businesses in Magoun and Ball squares equally reliant on the GLX and the completed Community Path. In Tufts we have a major university and regional thought leader that needs to put on our main transportation grid.

Along with all of this comes economic equity. The Urban Land Institute estimates the cost of owning a car for a Somerville resident to be $9,000 a year. That’s a potential backbreaker for a working family. That’s money that could be spent on improving your lot in life and sending your kids to college. Instead it’s being driven into having a vehicle you need to get to the job that, in some cases barely, keeps your family afloat. If we want more economic opportunities for everybody of all socioeconomic levels there is a clear answer: build more public transportation.

That transportation also must feature quality accessibility. Anyone with a mobility issue, whether it be someone in a wheelchair or a senior citizen, will tell you that there’s a massive difference between theoretical accessibility and actual accessibility. We understand the state must cut costs on the project, but platforms that can be easily accessed by anyone must be an absolute. We need to hold ourselves to a high standard to make sure the GLX works for everybody in our community.

The other critical point I want to make here is that time is of the essence. As I mentioned before, the work is already underway and $700 million of taxpayer money has already been committed. Delivering it on time is inextricably linked to delivering it on budget. The $1 billion in federal funds for the GLX will not be available to us forever. Also we know from experience that the cost of doing this project only goes up over time. It would have cost fractions of the current budget had the GLX been completed in the 1990s or 2000s. Making sure we stick to or beat the construction timeline is critical to keeping the GLX on budget.

Nothing is more expensive than delay, particularly because the GLX will remain at the top of the MBTA’s to-do list until it gets done. The state has a backlog of projects that need to be undertaken in the next few decades after it completes the GLX: Red-Blue connector, North-South connector, Blue Line extension, etc. All of that gets more expensive over time as well. Figuring out how to do the GLX responsibly sets us up to deliver those future projects. It also brings economic growth to help pay for those projects.

So Wednesday, April 13th at 5:30-9:00 be at the Somerville High auditorium or at least at the high school concourse to show state officials just how committed we are to the traffic alleviation, environmental improvements, jobs growth and socioeconomic equity that comes with the GLX. It’s the project with the power to transform how people live in our community. If you’ve never been to a public meeting, this is probably the one you want to make. This project directly impacts everyone in this city. Be heard, be seen. Make sure you stand up for the best transportation project on the board anywhere in this country.

http://www.thesomervilletimes.com/archives/66504

 

[FK4]

Way to go Curtatone. Good 'n' fervent. I also like the shout-outs to the R-B connector, BLX and NSRL.

 

[datadyne007]

Please take Somerville High School discussion to the Somerville thread.

Also, this post links to detailed plans (at the time there were 8 options).

Now they have whittled it down to 5 options (0/1, 4 & 4a were determined unfeasible).

 

[tangent]

Please take Somerville High School discussion to the Somerville thread.

Also, this post links to detailed plans (at the time there were 8 options).

Now they have whittled it down to 5 options (0/1, 4 & 4a were determined unfeasible).

I think proposals to move the Somerville High School away from the Green Line to save money would be relevant to the GLX thread. But it looks like the preferred alternatives are to keep the high school at its current campus.

 

[datadyne007]

JH Frazier is live-tweeting the meeting:

https://twitter.com/jhfrazier

Ron Newman commenting on the path extension's network effects, but Walnut Street access cut harms Somerville High School. #glx

Brickbottom representative wants abutter mitigation for them to not be cut as bad as the stations are. #glx

Commenter: we sued the casino, we'll sue you too! #glx

Somerville alderman White bringing the fire on broken commitments by the state. #glx.

Commenter rode here on McGrath. "depressing"! Path redesign is good value engineering to Washington street, then falls apart. #glx

Commenter: Big Dig overruns didn't lead to a redesign/downgrade process, this is a political move by @MassGovernor. #glx

The McGrath removal design concepts have a two-way cycle track with protected intersections, but it's on the south side of the new road #glx

Here's all the detail that exists on the on-street redesign segment. #glx

Shouts from the crowd on the McGrath in-street segment. #glx

Commenter: Cars don't share well. Need more detail on-street segment. Team: no details yet. It's all preliminary. #GLX

Options to get the path from track level to streets at Washington Street #glx

Matt C: The community path won't break down at rush hour, open 24/7, is important transpo infrastructure #glx

Editorial note: cycling on mcgrath is pretty terrible

Wickford Junction engineer, who is Path Friends member, discussing ways to reduce costs of retaining walls in their alternative design. #glx

Cyclist raising level of stress concerns with on-street segments and the tunnel under Walnut. #glx

Back Bay neighborhood committee member here, they support this regional project and want to take the T to Union Square #glx

Friends of Path have environmental justice concerns: the on street parts are the parts through EJ neighborhoods in Somerville #glx

Friends of Path have safety concerns over the switch over to the north side of the street in the T's redesign. #glx

Friends of Path pres: We handed our alternative redesign in at midnight, looking forwards to working with the T on it. #glx

Commenter: #glx and Somerville community path extension are part of our statewide transportation system. Build them out to West Medford!

The biggest loss in the redesigns seems to be local access for Somerville. Some cross streets like Walnut will have no access. #glx

Commenter talking about all of the delayed #glx dates, starting from the original 2010 opening date. Staff: project is on hold, no date.

Presentation over now, comments from the public starting now. Going to stay for a few. #glx

.6 miles out of rail corridor, onto the street from Joy to Poplar to McGrath, then back over to path. Biggest change so far. #glx

Access to Washington Street Station and path has two options, a switchback or an on-street segment. #glx

Some access from path to stations could now be track crossings #glx

Redesign path moves from south to north side from Central to School. Needs to have A+ crossings and bridge sections to get over there. #glx

Some segments still have the big retaining wall, eg Lowell Street to Junction Park. #glx

Path redesign will meet "spirit" of original design. Cost above no-path option is $20M, but only serves two #GLX T stations.

Redesign lead says that original cost of the path, including all supporting infrastructure, was about $100 M, $53 M / mile (!) #glx

Retaining wall construction cited as the cost driver for the surface-level original path design. #glx

Alternative path design is a new proposal by Friends of the Somerville Community Path, T team hasn't had time to analyze yet. #glx

Only 19 minutes for the consultant's presentation, rest of the time is for these people to speak #glx

MBTA GM mentioning a citizen-proposed path alternative, different from the T's redesign? #glx

New tunnel under Walnut Street #glx. (tweets out of geographic order, sorry!)

Not much changing on the western end of the path #glx

This segment has a detour to the other side of the tracks, then returns. #glx

Community Path redesign reducing retaining wall heights. #glx

Community Path redesign is staying along original route. Most changes are lowering it to track level. #glx

 

[JumboBuc]

My SparkNotes from tonight's GLX meeting:

• Community Path as originally planned would cost $100 million ($50 mill / mile), relative to a GLX with no Community Path at all
  
• Cut-back version now being proposed would cost $20 million
  
• Friends of the Community Path have their own similarly priced cut-back proposal that they put forward last night, to be reviewed by MBTA team. As far as I could tell from their comments, this proposal keeps much of the original design but supposedly saves money be using cheaper prefab retaining walls and off-the-shelf bridge components.

The major changes in the T's proposed cut-back version include:

• Bringing path to north side of ROW from Central St to School St
  
• Dropping path down to a lower grade, closer to the trains, at various points to save on retaining wall and fill costs
  
• Sinking path into a tunnel/"box" underneath Walnut St
  
• Basically giving up on the path around Poplar St and routing bike/ped traffic onto McGrath all the way to NorthPoint

Unsurprisingly, most of the comments focused on general frustration with the way this whole project is going and on the absurdity of routing a "Community Path" onto McGrath Highway. Every single one of the 60-or-so speakers spoke out in support of the project.

According to the MBTA representative/presenter, the viaduct over the Fitchburg Line alone would be around $25 million.

 

[ceo]

I had to leave during the comment period, but here's my summarized notes:

Proposed new path goes behind VNA at street level, then curves through Somerville Junction Park to Central St. This avoids ramp down to track grade with expensive retaining walls. It then crosses over the bridge and runs at street grade on the other side of the ROW to Sycamore St, taking advantage of some extra space over there and enabling building a wall on top of an existing one instead of a big new one on the south side that’s right against people’s properties.
At School St it crosses back over and then ramps down to track grade, passing Gilman Square Station with a track crossing to the platform, then crosses under Medford St.
At Walnut Street, there isn’t room for the path next to the 4 tracks, so the plan is to jack a 10’-wide tunnel in behind the abutment. (As in, build a big concrete box and then shove it through under the road, like they did with I-90 under the South Station tracks only a lot smaller.) The path continues at track level to Washington St station, with a possible ramp up to Cross St.
At Washington St there are two possibilities: one switches back down to Washington St, other continues on an easement alongside the tracks to Poplar St. They don't yet know if they'll be able to use the easement, hence the two possible routes here.
Then it follows Poplar St to McGrath and crosses the bridge alongside the highway, presumably on a well-separated cycletrack.
It then turns left and goes between the building Sav-Mor Liquors is in and the one to the north of it (aerials tell me they might have to take that building's loading dock and knock it down), goes under the viaduct where the Red Bridge used to be and continues to the original terminus somewhere behind North Point.

 

[ceo]

At a previous meeting I attended, they said something I don't think has been mentioned here: The T is working on implementing a system that will allow boarding at all doors at surface stops, probably by tapping a reader at the door. They didn't go into more detail than that, but this makes it possible for the new stations to be designed without fare gates, which greatly simplifies things. And it makes possible the track-level access between the Community Path and the Gilman Square station platform noted above.

 

[CantabAmager]

Was also at the meeting, but had to leave at 6:30. I got there early to see if I could talk up some of the engineers before the crowds started rolling in. Some notes to add, both good and bad:

1. As has been discussed, comm. path redesign is more or less cover for cost-savings from salvaging the current retaining walls. That's what's behind everything. It was crystal clear to me at least that the alternatives were, with one glaring exception, presented as "here's what the path will look like if we can keep the old retaining walls" (and, hey, I want this project up and running, so I'm good with 80% of the redesign). I see some good and bad in this: the bad is that there's always the threat that over-attention on one goal mangles another project, in this case the laser-focus on retaining wall cost-savings; the good is that MassDOT is actually trying to present an alternative, so there's a recognition there that the path could be an asset both to Somerville and GLX itself, however...

2. "Preliminary" is putting it nicely. The Walnut St Tunnel got a few groans when I was hovering around listening to other people's question, as did the duck-under McGrath, but both were rather straight-forward and, frankly, both were good enough if not ideal. As you could have guessed from the twitter summary, the Washington St redesign was drawing all the attention. There were only 20 or so people when I got there, 80% of whom were standing by the easels with the Wash. Station redesign. The MassDOT rep was asked multiple times about the on-street portions, particularly the stretch along O'Brien - "Are street lanes protected? Are they sharrows? Will the street segments be a MassDOT or City of Somerville project? Are you guys seriously suggesting O'Brien as a route?". The poor guy had to answer, repeatedly, "we don't know - these are just alternatives, we don't know exactly what's possible". In contrast to public meetings' reputation, most of the people when I was there were opposed to the alignment, but conciliatory to the situation. No one seemed to think it was a good alternative and the reps there seemed to agree to be fair - that section is the one where retaining walls aren't as relevant as in other areas, so it seems like the MassDOT engineers basically had to come up with an alternative to what was already the best (and only) good alternative.

3. Procedural details are also up in the air. I was able to ask if the redesign was an all-or-nothing deal - i.e. can MassDOT somehow salvage the old Washington street section, but score the costs savings on the upper end of the path and if it'd be Somerville or MassDOT (or a partnership) that'd make the decisions/handle implementation vis-a-vis protected (or not) lanes for the Joy-Poplar-O'Brien alternative. He couldn't give a straight answer because, well, there really isn't a straight answer to give. They're at least trying to salvage the path, but, honestly, it seemed as if the reps and engineers were waiting for the FMCB to make a decision before they set about producing more detailed alternatives.

4. Another rep mentioned sort of off-handedly at the end what I thought was the most important detail: that flying junction superstructure would incorporate the design for the original path fly-over - so that the MBTA or Somerville could go back at some point (assuming the flyover gets scrapped) and do the full project.

Extra note: had an interesting conversation with a rep about the Lechmere relocation, apparently Divco West has been both closely involved and very supportive of the Lechmere Station relocation, he mentioned that they were proactive in seeking out an audience with MassDOT to see how they could help. I think, if it's true, that this is really promising, apparently Divco's buzzword is "front door" to NorthPoint and, far from just committing to some relocation costs, are actively looking at how they can improve the station beyond the standard MBTA kit - that means either more money from them or more involvement in design; apparently lighting, improved waiting areas, and groceries/markets/retail beneath the new station were all on Divco's wish list.

The last point I'll say is that my impression was that MassDOT is willing to play ball on the Washington Station path alternatives, but that they're sort hand-cuffed by the axe dangling above the head of GLX. That needs to be sorted. And sorted soon.

 

[kjdonovan]

I attended until the end and can affirm that majority of concern was about the Washington-to-Northpoint section.

My SparkNotes:
$100 for original path, $20 million for revised path taken as is.
$25 million for the original Washington-to-Northpoint section alone. I support what one speaker said: I'd rather that part be done right and leave the rest of it as a broken connection to be filled in later. Spend $25 million on that.

Reason is, simply, that the roadways between the current terminus at Lowell and Washington Street, while on street and meandering, are all very quiet side streets. Annoying from an aesthetic and philosophical perspective (that's not a bike path!) but functionally similar in terms of safety and route via ped or bike. Washington to Northpoint is a completely new connection that does not exist. It is the most critical gateway to East Cambridge and Somerville. If you don't get the McGrath section right, the rest is just a "nice to have."

 

[JumboBuc]

I attended until the end and can affirm that majority of concern was about the Washington-to-Northpoint section.

My SparkNotes:
$100 for original path, $20 million for revised path taken as is.
$25 million for the original Washington-to-Northpoint section alone. I support what one speaker said: I'd rather that part be done right and leave the rest of it as a broken connection to be filled in later. Spend $25 million on that.

Reason is, simply, that the roadways between the current terminus at Lowell and Washington Street, while on street and meandering, are all very quiet side streets. Annoying from an aesthetic and philosophical perspective (that's not a bike path!) but functionally similar in terms of safety and route via ped or bike. Washington to Northpoint is a completely new connection that does not exist. It is the most critical gateway to East Cambridge and Somerville. If you don't get the McGrath section right, the rest is just a "nice to have."

^I totally agree.

I work downtown and live between Davis and Ball. In order to put myself in the shoes of the path, I got off the T last night at Lechmere and walked along McGrath up to the meeting at Somerville High. After the meeting, I continued walking as close to the rail ROW as I could until I reached the existing path at Lowell St and followed it home. The walk to the meeting from Lechmere, along McGrath, was extremely unpleasant. I frequently had to scurry across wide, scary intersections where there was little pedestrian infrastructure and no bike infrastructure. The walk home from the meeting, along Montrose, Willoughby, and Woodbine Streets, and through Somerville Junction Park, was fine. Those streets are quiet and residential, the sort of places where one might teach a kid to ride a bike.

The cut-back form of the path presented last night neglects the path where it is most needed and builds it where it is least needed.

 

[BuilditDenser]

^I totally agree.

I work downtown and live between Davis and Ball. In order to put myself in the shoes of the path, I got off the T last night at Lechmere and walked along McGrath up to the meeting at Somerville High. After the meeting, I continued walking as close to the rail ROW as I could until I reached the existing path at Lowell St and followed it home. The walk to the meeting from Lechmere, along McGrath, was extremely unpleasant. I frequently had to scurry across wide, scary intersections where there was little pedestrian infrastructure and no bike infrastructure. The walk home from the meeting, along Montrose, Willoughby, and Woodbine Streets, and through Somerville Junction Park, was fine. Those streets are quiet and residential, the sort of places where one might teach a kid to ride a bike.

I agree with you that right now, McGrath is a disaster. But won't the grounding mcgrath project that includes 2 separated 2 way bike lanes with traffic signals and protected intersections help dramatically? I think that the path should go along the GLX until mcgrath at medford st/oliver area, then follow mcgrath, move to northpoint at lechmere to go over the new draw 1 ped bridge. I think that is the most efficient way of combining all of the current projects.


This alignment would need to include signage for people to be on the outbound cycle track in order to have a seamless transition to lechmere. I would much rather cross at medford street than at the dam. The major downsides I see with this idea are: worse scenery, possibly confusing alignment if not enough signs like the rest of MA, one crossing of mcgrath, delayed timeline, and the potential for kids or cars to cross over the barrier.

 

[bigeman312]

Rant alert:

It bothers me that the vast majority of the articles covering this meeting are referring to the Community Path as a "walking path" and only a "walking path." I mean, yes, it is a path where people can walk. But that makes it seem like a frivolous meandering dirt path, rather than a crucial, multi-modal transportation link. I had not seen that language (walking path) used to describe the Community Path Extension until recently, and now it seems to be the go-to way to describe it. What if there was an article about the Pike being redesigned, and the title said "$1b to redesign large asphalt strip." While not untrue, it is a totally disingenuous classification of a piece of infrastructure. To me, the only two reasons why the term walking path would be used here are ignorance, or an attempt to purposefully undermine the usefulness of this multi-use trail.

Boston Globe: Green Line extension walking path redesigned

NECN: MBTA Green Line Extension Walking Path Redesigned

Washington Times: Green Line extension walking path is redesigned to cut costs

Rant over.

 

[Equilibria]

I agree with you that right now, McGrath is a disaster. But won't the grounding mcgrath project that includes 2 separated 2 way bike lanes with traffic signals and protected intersections help dramatically? I think that the path should go along the GLX until mcgrath at medford st/oliver area, then follow mcgrath, move to northpoint at lechmere to go over the new draw 1 ped bridge. I think that is the most efficient way of combining all of the current projects.

I agree. I'm not sure why the people presenting last night (and commenting, for that matter) would be referring to McGrath in its current configuration. Not only is that project supposed to have bike lanes, they're supposed to be full cycle tracks separated from traffic by a tree-lined divider. Using McGrath as the path alignment would also bring the path most of the way to Union Square and would link up much better with a Grand Junction path.

I know that MassDOT isn't moving fast on McGrath, but we're talking about 2022 here.

 

[whighlander]

Did anyone remark on the absolute absurdity of the price
Community Path as originally planned would cost $100 million ($50 mill / mile)

Just for comparison the much used and admired Minuteman Bikeway built in the 2000 time frame cost less than $5 M for 10 miles

just recently the proposed extension through Bedford was approved

: $4,006,200.00
 Project will extend from Depot Park to Concord T/L (2.2 miles)

I understand that Somerville is Somerville still $50M / mi seems a bit exorbitant

 

[ceo]

The Minuteman isn't a good comparison, as it didn't involve any heavy construction, basically just laying pavement and putting up some guardrails. (Edit: and it was actually built in 1992.)

 

[ceo]

The Grounding McGrath project ends at the bridge over the Fitchburg Line, so it won't help the proposed path routing much.