FTA promises MBTA Green Line nearly $1 billion
Written by Jenifer Nunez, assistant editor
HRD, Inc.
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is pledging nearly $1 billion in funding for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line extension to Somerville and Medford, Mass.
In a letter written to Sen. Timothy Jones, chairman of the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, Acting FTA Administrator of Therese McMillan said that a Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) will be executed, providing the MBTA with $990,121,000 in New Starts funds for the design and construction of the Green Line Extension project.
This will cover 43 percent of the total project cost of $2.3 billion with the remaining balance coming from the commonwealth of Massachusetts General Obligation Bonds ($996 million) and the commonwealth of Massachusetts Operating Funds ($305 million).
The Green Line Extension will extend the MBTA Green Line from a relocated Lechmere Station in East Cambridge to Union Square in Somerville and College Avenue in Medford.
MBTA said bringing light-rail service to this corridor will greatly improve local and regional mobility, address longstanding transportation inequities, result in fewer automobiles on local roads and help to combat greenhouse gas emissions and other components of air pollution.
