MBTA’s Fiscal and Management Control Board approves contract for new rail station
Written by Kyra Senese, Managing Editor
MBTA
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Fiscal and Management Control Board (FMCB) has approved a construction contract for McCourt Construction Company to build its new Blue Hill Avenue commuter rail station.
Representatives say the contract is worth $16.97 million and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s board of directors and FMCB authorized the project funding in September 2015 for the amount of $26.55 million.
The transportation authority advertised the project in December 2016 and received bids from seven companies. MBTA says it chose McCourt Construction Company, offering the lowest bid of $16.97 million, following its bid analysis.
The new station will be located between Blue Hill Avenue and Cummins Highway on the Fairmount Line. The station will become the ninth Fairmount rail line station, providing 20-minute service to downtown Boston without requiring transfers.
Representatives say the station will include one center-island platform between Blue Hill Avenue and Cummins Highway that will be located below street level and two covered pedestrian ramps from Blue Hill Avenue and Cummins Highway.
The station will also feature canopies, warning strips, benches and windscreens, closed circuit television security cameras, new lighting and messaging signs, train approach warning systems and historically-influenced graphic panels.
The MBTA expects the Blue Hill Avenue Station to begin service along the Fairmount Line in 2019, following a projected two-year construction period. The transportation authority reports roughly 1,300 daily passengers along the Fairmount line.
