T officials cite cost overruns for delay on Green Line plan

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_coverage/2015/10/t_officials_cite_cost_overruns_for_delay_on_green_line_plan



ON HOLD: MBTA Chief Administrator Brian Shortsleeve, left, listens as MBTA GM Frank DePaola speaks yesterday.

T officials cite cost overruns for delay on Green Line plan
Bob McGovern Thursday, October 22, 2015

The Green Line extension — slated to go through Somerville and into Medford — will be pushed back and the next major phase may be delayed until next spring due to rising costs, T officials say.

“Our preliminary analysis indicates that the project costs may exceed our last budget estimates by as much as $700 million to $1 billion,” Frank DePaola, the MBTA’s general manager, said in a statement. “This setback requires changes to the project and/or additional sources of funding, as well as reconsideration of whether MassDOT and the MBTA can continue with the project.”

MassDOT and the Fiscal Management Control Board are slated to give Gov. Charlie Baker a report on the Green Line extension project at a Dec. 9 meeting. The organizations expect to explain how much the project will cost, how it will be delivered, how it will be paid for and outline what steps come next.

Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack said the next major phase in the project “is unlikely to occur until spring 2016.”