GLX 'Officially Restarted': Mayor

SOMERVILLE, MA – The Federal Transit Administration on Thursday issued the first $100 million of $1 billion in grant funding to the Green Line Extension project, according to state and federal transit officials. With federal funding secured, the MBTA has issued the "Notice to Proceed" to the design-build team, GLX Constructors, about two months earlier than expected.

The $2.3 billion project will add a 4.7-mile light rail line from Cambridge to Medford, bringing six new stations to Somerville and Medford, and rebuild the northern Green Line terminus in East Cambridge. The finished rail line is projected to serve about 50,000 riders, according to a previous State House News Service report.

Last month GLX Constructors was awarded a $1.08 billion design-build contract, the largest in the history of the MBTA. The team also pledged to revive aspects of the project that were previously cut and listed by the MBTA as "additive options," like a portion of a bike lane, elevators, public art and a vehicle maintenance facility in Somerville.

The "Notice to Proceed" marks a major turnaround in the Green Line Extension project, which stalled in 2015 amid ballooning costs.

"The importance of this news from the FTA cannot be overstated," Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone said in a statement. "For everyone who has been fighting so hard over so many years to see the GLX become a reality, and for the region’s communities that stand to benefit both economically and environmentally from the project’s completion, today marks a key moment. After more than two years of uncertainty about the future of the project, today is the day that the Green Line Extension is officially restarted."

Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2021.

Patch File Photo