Red Line Extension to Mattapan

Just a reminder that the other option has not been proven to be viable either
I don't get why you're so hung up on proving things that don't need to be proven. The worst case scenario for a conversion is just the current routing but bored underground so you have a nice convenient work site and place to build ventilation shafts. There is no world, none, where building a new tunnel on the other side of the river but without the convenience of an already reserved ROW makes more sense. That's just how building things works.
 
There is no engineering study that says the current ROW is even possible. You know that so stop wondering. But a tunnel on the ROW could be an option but that is also unknown
 
There is no engineering study that says the current ROW is even possible. You know that so stop wondering. But a tunnel on the ROW could be an option but that is also unknown
Yes...there...is. As extensively discussed and which you keep ignoring, the Boston Transit Commission designed the ROW from Day 1 with conversion in mind.
 
There is no engineering study that says the current ROW is even possible.
The engineering work was done in the 1920s when they originally got the extension as far as Mattapan approved, and if you haven't noticed technology has advanced a little bit since the early 1900s, providing it doesn't require bending space or something you can pretty much build a railway wherever you want now. Here is the list of challenges that face any RL conversion, and their likely solution or solutions:
  • Cemetery Embankment: Either strengthening the embankment or doing a capped cut tunnel
  • Central Ave Grade Crossing: Either a bridge/overhang over the river or a bridge over the road
  • Capen St crossing: Cutting/capped cut or bridge
None of those are particularly difficult to do. You are way, way, way more likely to run into political problems than engineering ones, which is why we were talking about the cemetery in the first place.
 

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