Massachusetts Department of Transportation

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority

State Implementation Plan – Transit Commitments

Monthly Status Report

March 21, 2013

For questions on this document, please contact: 

Massachusetts Department of Transportation

Office of Transportation Planning

10 Park Plaza, Room 4150

Boston, Massachusetts  02116

planning@state.ma.us

(617) 973-7313

III. Green Line Extension to Somerville and Medford

 Project Description

This project – the purpose of which is to improve corridor mobility, boost transit ridership, improve regional air quality, ensure equitable distribution of transit services, and support opportunities for sustainable development – will extend the MBTA Green Line from a relocated Lechmere Station in East Cambridge to College Avenue in Medford, with a branch to Union Square in Somerville.

Proposed Stations

New Green Line stations are currently proposed for:

College Avenue, Medford – Located at the intersection of College Avenue and Boston Avenue in Medford, adjacent to Tufts University. The station platform will be located on the north side of the College Avenue Bridge, which crosses over the MBTA Lowell Line. Access to the station will be provided from both Boston Avenue and College Avenue, as well as from the Burget Avenue neighborhood, which lies northeast of the station site.  

Broadway/Ball Square, Medford/Somerville – Located at the intersection of Broadway and Boston Avenue on the north side of Ball Square.  The station platform will be located on the north side of the Broadway Bridge, which crosses over the MBTA Lowell Line.  Access to the station will be provided from both Boston Avenue and Broadway.  An electrical substation, needed to support the Green Line Extension, will be installed at this location.  

Lowell Street, Somerville – Located at the Lowell Street Bridge, which crosses over the MBTA Lowell Line adjacent to the proposed extension of the Somerville Community Path.  The station platform will be located on the north side of the Lowell Street Bridge.  Access to the station will be provided from Lowell Street.  

Gilman Square, Somerville – Located in the vicinity of the Medford Street crossing of the MBTA Lowell Line, behind Somerville City Hall, Public Library, and High School.   The station platform will be located on the north side of the Medford Street Bridge, which crosses over the MBTA Lowell Line.  Access to the station will be provided from Medford Street. The proposed extension of the Somerville Community Path will be located in close proximity and with a connection to the station, and an electrical substation needed to support the Extension will also be installed adjacent to the Community Path on the south side of the corridor.

Washington Street, Somerville – Located within the footprint of the Washington Street Bridge, proximate to Somerville’s Brickbottom, Inner Belt, and Cobble Hill neighborhoods.  The station platform will be located south of the Washington Street undergrade crossing of the MBTA Lowell Line.  Access to the station will be provided via entrances located under or adjacent to the south abutment of the bridge, in conjunction with improved sidewalk and street-crossings in the area. The proposed extension of the Somerville Community Path will be located in close proximity to the station. 

Union Square, Somerville – Located east of Prospect Street in the vicinity of Union Square in Somerville.  The station platform will be located within the MBTA Fitchburg Line right-of-way east of Prospect Street.   Access to this station will be provided from both the street and bridge levels of Prospect Street. 

Vehicle Storage and Maintenance Facility

The Green Line Extension will also require the construction of a new light rail vehicle storage and maintenance facility in the vicinity of the Green Line Extension.  The facility will be constructed on an L-shaped parcel in the Innerbelt area of Somerville that is adjacent to the Boston Engine Terminal. The MBTA must acquire certain parcels of private property and relocate select businesses in order to clear the site and construct the vehicle facility at this location.  

Somerville Community Path Extension

The Green Line Extension project also includes the design of the proposed extension of the Somerville Community Path from south of Lowell street to the Inner Belt area of Somerville (not part of the SIP commitment).

Project Funding & Cost

MassDOT is pursuing federal funding through the competitive FTA New Starts program to support the design and construction of the Green Line Extension project.  MassDOT and the MBTA are honored that the Green Line Extension project was selected by the FTA for approval into Preliminary Engineering in June 2012. On January 9, 2013, FTA published a Federal Register final rule establishing a new regulatory framework for FTA’s evaluation and rating of major transit capital investments seeking funding under the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP–21) program. Under the New Starts/MAP-21 program rules the GLX is considered by FTA to have advanced into “Engineering”.

The Green Line Extension project is, in many ways, an excellent candidate project for the New Starts program. The project rates well in terms of: anticipated ridership; environmental benefits; the extant policies and programs in the corridor and region that encourage public transit usage; and the strong and sustained support for the project from elected officials and the public.  However, the fundamental financial realities facing the MBTA – a substantial annual operating deficit as well as a multi-billion-dollar backlog in maintenance and upgrade needs – pose a real challenge to completion of the application for and ultimate completion of the negotiations associated with a Full Funding Grant Agreement for the Green Line Extension project.

In order to submit the September 2013 update to FTA and to initiate negotiations on a Full Funding Grant agreement in February 2014, which will solidify FTA’s financial participation in the project, the state must move from hypothetical proposals to concrete steps toward a long-term solution for the MBTA’s funding deficiency.  Without progress on this issue, the New Starts negotiations cannot be initiated or completed, thus delaying the corresponding construction start dates.  It is also highly probable that without substantial progress on the identification of new revenue sources and the completion of the financial plan, the FTA will decline providing financial assistance to the project all together.

In addition to federal funding, MassDOT and the MBTA plan to use Commonwealth funds to support the design and construction of the Green Line Extension project.  These funds will be raised with the backing of authorizations made to support the SIP projects in Transportation Bond Bills of the past several years.  At present, MassDOT has $624 million available in active Transportation Bond Bill authorizations for the SIP projects. This does not include the monies encumbered to support current projects.

The recently released MassDOT finance plan, “The Way Forward,” and the transportation funding proposals are included in the January 2013 Governor’s Budget submittal.  If approved by the State legislature, this funding would provide the solution to the issues raised in the New Starts process with regard to funding.

SIP Deadline

Before December 31, 2014, construction of the following facilities shall be completed and opened to full public use: 1. The Green Line Extension from Lechmere Station to Medford Hillside; 2. The Green Line Union Square spur of the Green Line Extension to Medford Hillside.

Project Status

Environmental and Funding Approvals:

State-level environmental review (MEPA) was completed in July 2010.  Federal-level environmental review (NEPA) documents were submitted to the Federal Transit Administration in September 2011, and a public hearing was held on October 20, 2011 (to accompany a 45-day public comment period).  A Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) was issued by the Federal Transit Administration on July 9, 2012.  The July 2012 release of a FONSI completed the federal-level environmental review process, approximately seven months beyond what was anticipated in the 2011 Status Report.

As stated above, MassDOT and the MBTA continue to work with the Federal Transit Administration to seek funding for the Green Line Extension project under the FTA New Starts capital funding program. A draft New Starts submittal was first presented to FTA in September 2011 for its review.  A second, near final, New Starts submittal, including updated Operations & Maintenance (O&M) modeling information, was submitted to FTA for formal evaluation and rating on December 27, 2011.  The last remaining O&M information, completing the application package, was submitted in late January 2012.  On June 11, 2012, the MBTA received approval from the FTA for the Green Line Extension project to enter Preliminary Engineering.  This approval represents the culmination of this portion of the New Starts application process.  Approval into the New Starts pipeline means that the MBTA may be able, in the future, to seek reimbursement from FTA for expenditures incurred after this date associated with the Green Line Extension project.  However, final authority to seek such reimbursements depends upon the Green Line Extension project being able to successfully continue to compete against other public transit projects within the New Starts program.  In order for this to occur, the Green Line Extension project must continue to advance the design and update the estimate for inclusion in the application associated with the full funding grant agreement.

Therefore, entry into Preliminary Engineering is a critical step for the Green Line Extension project and a necessary precondition for receiving federal support; however, it does not guarantee that federal funding will ultimately be available for the project.  It does, however, make any design costs going forward eligible for federal reimbursement, should the MBTA ultimately succeed in obtaining a Full Funding Grant Agreement.

Project Delivery:

The MBTA and its Program Management/Construction Management (PM/CM) team completed Advanced Conceptual Engineering for the Green Line Extension project late in the summer of 2012. The team is advancing the project in accordance with a revised project delivery approach which will divide the project into multiple phases (described in more detail below). 

In September 2012, the MBTA completed the process to procure an Advanced Preliminary Engineering/Final Design (APE/FD) - a joint venture of AECOM and HNTB who will extend the design through both Advanced Preliminary Engineering and Final Design – with MBTA Board approval on September 12, 2012, and Notice to Proceed on September 20, 2012.  Since then, the PM/CM team completed the kick-off process, as well as a series of knowledge transfer sessions through October and November to bring the APE/FD team up to speed on the many elements of the project. 

In November 2012, the APE/FD team held an internal kick-off meeting, commencing the Advanced Preliminary Design process. The PM/CM team continues to act as program managers, providing services as extension of staff to the MBTA.  The APE/FD contract was executed in February, permitting the signing of the geotechnical subcontracts which will allow the geotechnical investigation program to proceed.  The proposed retaining walls has been given top priority; however, the APE/FD has proceeded with the overall retaining wall design based on agreed-upon conservative geotechnical assumptions and the design will be modified as information becomes available.

In accordance with state requirements, the MBTA has also procured an Owner’s Representative (OR) to support and guide the MBTA throughout the implementation of the project. The OR provides oversight services to the Commonwealth, as well as structural peer review and value engineering services on the project, and has been participating in weekly project meetings and performing review functions. 

A formal Value Engineering (VE) Workshop was held in early November 2012. The final VE recommendations were presented to the MBTA Value Engineering Review Committee (VERC) on December 13, 2012. The GLX project teams’ report and recommendations have been signed off by each of the members of the VERC.  These items are being added to the configuration management plan listing as changes to the baseline and the design team is moving forward with the accepted changes.

New Green Line Vehicles:

Procurement of 24 new Green Line vehicles needed to support the operation of the Green Line Extension is ongoing. The MBTA advertised for the new vehicles in January 2011 and held a pre-bid meeting for prospective bidders in February 2011. Proposals were submitted to the MBTA by two potential builders of the new Green Line vehicles on June 13, 2011, and are now under review by the MBTA Technical Selection Committee. Approval by the MBTA Board has been pushed out as the review continues.  To date, pricing in the proposals has been extended month to month by both proposers. 

Real Estate:

Completion of an agreement with Pan Am Railways in March 2011 allowed the Commonwealth to acquire land and track vital to the construction of the project. MassDOT and the MBTA are presently collaborating on background and support tasks associated with the balance of the real estate work for the Green Line Extension project. A confirmatory survey of the right-of-way limits and adjacent property lines is now complete and the data was used in the Advanced Conceptual design efforts and as confirmation for typical sections, track layouts, and an update to the listing of the potential property impacts. These revised impacts will be confirmed as part of the follow-on Advanced Preliminary design work.

MassDOT and the MBTA were granted approval from FTA to begin certain pre-acquisition activities ahead of the completion of the NEPA process (which is now complete).  Those activities will continue, including the work associated with the title surveys for the anticipated full-property acquisitions.  Appraisals are ongoing on the properties needed for the Vehicle Maintenance facility.  A relocation consultant, retained by the MBTA Real Estate Department, is assisting with the real estate elements of the Green Line Extension project. The GLX Relocation Plan, a document requiring approval by the Commonwealth  before any business relocations can commence, has been prepared, reviewed and approved by the Commonwealth, and has now been submitted to  the FTA for them to comment on. Additional schedules to implement the real estate acquisition process in a prioritized manor are being developed in conjunction with the MBTA’s Real Estate department and then will be incorporated into the overall program schedule.

Specifically, in order to support the Phase 1 construction work described below, the real estate process to permit the construction work to proceed is now complete, with compensation made to all property owners affected by the Phase 1 construction and the necessary temporary construction access licenses have been executed. 

In addition, the MBTA executed a July 26, 2012 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the City of Somerville.  Under this MOU, the City will convey the necessary land parcels at the proposed Union Square Station site to the MBTA.  These parcels will be acquired by the City of Somerville and will be conveyed to the MBTA in spring 2013.

Coordination meetings continue to be held with HYM and the City of Cambridge in regard to the Lechmere station and area around it, roadway designs and phasing plans. Coordination has also been ongoing with Archstone and the developer for 22 Water Street in this area.

The team also has been working with the City of Somerville in regard to property issues at Gilman Station and Ball Square Station and to review concepts generated by the City’s “Somervision” planning process.

Design Progress:

Many project milestones have already been reached on the Green Line Extension project, including completion of the Advanced Conceptual Engineering for: seven stations, bridges, viaducts, corridor and maintenance facility; update of the design criteria; the preparation of the design definition report; preparation of an accessible access report for each of the station sites; roadway plans and the functional design report for the roads and intersections.  In addition, the programming for the maintenance facility and development of the traction power, communications and security systems concepts and designs, initial cost and schedule reviews, and the development of revised program delivery plans along with project phasing plans have also been completed.

The final volume of the Advanced Conceptual design plans was submitted to the MBTA on August 15, 2012.  These submittals were delivered in phases, with the in-progress Advanced Conceptual design plans for the seven stations submitted in late May, the design submittals for the bridges and roadways in late June, and the viaduct, track and guideway components submitted in mid-August.  Comments on the design submittals have now been addressed and incorporated into the Advanced Preliminary design as necessary.

As the station and bridge design has continued, new questions and design challenges have developed.  Some of these new issues relate to emergency egress and accessibility requirements, while others are linked to the receipt of new, more detailed survey information and recently identified utility conflicts.  In order to reach resolution of egress issues the MBTA has now submitted a variance request to gain acceptance of the Advanced Conceptual Design of the emergency egress from the end of four station platforms (College, Ball, Lowell, and Union). In early March, these variance requests were all granted, allowing for design to proceed on the emergency egress elements off the end of these station platforms.  Work is also proceeding on revisions to the Ball Square station layout to resolve NStar and MWRA utility issues.

The PM/CM design studies have been completed and provided to the APE/FD team for design direction. Of particular note, evaluation of drainage issues and solutions at Washington Street Station and the Redbridge-Northpoint area; these alternatives were presented by the project team to the MBTA and a plan forward has been endorsed and direction given to the Design consultant. The concept design for a relocated and repurposed 2^nd entrance at Lechmere (it will now be both an exit and an entrance) has also been accepted and direction given to the design consultant to incorporate it into the design going forward. Concepts have been developed illustrating how a second head house could be added in the future at the Union Square station. These options have been reviewed with the City of Somerville and the study completed.   The designs of Ball Square Station and Gilman Station have proceeded taking into consideration the design study at Ball Square, the before-mentioned “Somervision” process and the ideas accepted from the VE study. Overall the size of the stations has been reduced by about 10 percent.

The phasing of the roadway improvements at Lechmere (O’Brien Highway, North First Street, and Water Street) which are the responsibility of the NorthPoint development project, continue to be an item of discussion between the GLX team and the NorthPoint developer, along with the design of O’Brien highway improvements.  Discussion also continues between NorthPoint, the City of Cambridge, and the members of the East Cambridge neighborhood.  The GLX project is also coordinating the Viaduct design with the Archstone II development and the 22 Water Street developer.

The project team has continued to meet and coordinate design issues with representatives from the three communities including:  (1) Conducted a meeting with  the City of Somerville and Friends of the Community Path on the path connections in the Red Bridge area and  met with the City of Cambridge on interim parking near Lechmere Station; (2)  A meeting with the City of Medford on the revised Ball Square plans; (3) Meetings with the City of Somerville and the City of Medford on the Phase 1 Construction Plan, a local abutters meeting for the work around the Harvard Street bridge location as well as one with the general public in regard to the Phase 1 work. As a follow-up to the January 2013 Coordination meeting with the Mass Historic Commission on the details of the viaduct demolition, a Historical American Engineering Report (HAER) is being prepared for submittal in March 2013.

Detailed design work on the Phase 1 Early Bridge/Demolition 1 package is complete. This package includes (1) the widening of two railroad bridges to accommodate the additional Green Line tracks and (2) the demolition of the MBTA tire storage building at 21 Water Street in the Lechmere area to provide parking and staging areas for the Phase 2/2A work. 

This construction package was advertised for bids on July 16, 2012, following receipt of the July 9^th FONSI from FTA. Bids were taken on September 6, 2012 and a pre-award meeting was held with the apparent low bidder. This Phase of the GLX Project will be funded completely by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  The MBTA General Manager awarded the Phase 1 contract to Barletta Heavy Construction on December 13, 2012. MBTA issued Notice to Proceed to Barletta Heavy Construction on January 31, 2013.   As stated, the contractor was introduced to the local residents and businesses at community meetings in March. Field activities are anticipated to start shortly and shop drawings and submittal activities are underway.

Public Outreach:

Public outreach on the project has included hundreds of meetings and other events over multiple years. MassDOT and MBTA staff have met with numerous public groups, elected officials, and other interested parties. There have been two different project advisory committees, including the former Project Advisory Group and the current Design Working Group.  Meeting types have included meetings of those groups and their subcommittees, station workshops, design review sessions with right of way abutters, interagency meetings, neighborhood briefings, briefings with elected officials, institutional and business group meetings, public meetings and hearings, land use workshops, and ‘meet and greet’ sessions, as well as many others.

Details of the design of the stations, including the relationship of the stations to the pedestrian, bicycle, and bus networks around them, are now more fully developed.  The MBTA completed two rounds of public design workshops in order to engage the public in developing the ‘look and feel’ of the stations and the areas around the stations. These workshops occurred in late spring/summer of 2011 and then again in the winter/spring of 2011-2012. The MBTA has used the information and input collected at the workshops and from the Green Line Extension Design Working Group to complete the summer 2012 Advanced Conceptual Design set. The Design Working Group had a meet and greet meeting with the Advanced Conceptual/Final Design consultant and the timing of and subject matter for the next meeting is under discussion.

Project staff has also met with the abutters to the Phase 1 construction work, around Harvard Street, as well as representatives of Tufts University, the City of Medford and the City of Somerville.  An overall Phase 1 public meeting is scheduled for March 14, 2013 which will discuss among other things, scope, schedule, contacts, the hotline, coordination with the Fire departments and proposed road detours. The project team also continues to respond to inquiries to the project website with regard to scope, schedule and coordination.

Project Phasing and Delivery:

To tailor the project delivery method to best mitigate the larger project risks, MassDOT and MBTA are implementing a phased project delivery plan. This delivery plan recommends dividing the project into (at least) four phases.

Phase 1 will rely on the traditional Design-Bid-Build approach to deliver the contract for the widening of the Harvard Street and Medford Street railroad bridges and the demolition of 21 Water Street.  As noted above, the contract award occurred in December and the NTP was issued on January 31, 2013.

Subsequent construction phases will use the Construction Manager/General Contractor (CM/GC) approach, a project delivery method incorporating an integrated team approach to design and construction. The use of CM/GC on the Project was approved as a pilot project by the legislature and signed into law by the Governor on June 19, 2012.  The MBTA Board of Directors also approved this project delivery approach at its July 11, 2012 meeting.  After a series of meetings were held in September and October, the OIG approved MBTA’s plan to move forward with the CM/GC approach on November 29, 2012.  With this last approval now in hand, the MBTA issued a request for Letters of Interest on December 7, 2012 to firms for CM/GC services.  Responses from interested firms were received on January 4, 2013 and CM/GC Qualification Statements received on February 19, 2013.  The most qualified firms have been notified and the Request for Proposals was issued on March 11. Proposals are due in April and the contract is currently scheduled for award at the July 2013 Board meeting.  In addition, an Independent Cost Estimator (ICE) procurement is underway, with a Request for Qualification Statements issued on February 25, 2013, with Qualification Statements due on March 29, 2013. It too is expected to go to the July Board meeting for approval.

Phase 2/2A will extend service from the (new) Lechmere Station to the Washington Street and Union Square stations and relocate the bus facility at Lechmere and the ongoing vehicle storage.  Completion dates for this phase are based on assumptions related to two key FTA submissions: (1) New Starts FY 2015 update/Application in September 2013, and (2) that FTA agrees to issue a “Letter of No Prejudice” (permitting certain Phase 2/2A activities to proceed into construction prior to the granting of a Full Funding Grant Agreement) for the project. With these assumptions, this phase is anticipated to start by mid 2014, complete construction in late 2016 with testing and startup in early 2017.

Phase 3 will construct the vehicle maintenance facility and storage yard.  As the full yard and maintenance facility are not needed to support initial passenger service to Washington Street and Union Square, this phase has been scheduled to be complete some six months ahead of the date for revenue service to College Avenue. It is anticipated that the relocation activities of the current occupants of the VMSF site will be completed by the end of 2015 such that site cleanup and demolition can start shortly thereafter.

Phase 4 will provide service from Washington Street Station (completed as part of Phase 2 above) to College Avenue Station by the end of July 2019.  The risk evaluation process referenced below indicates that this phase, representing the completion of the Green Line Extension project, has a 50% probability of completing on or before the July 2019 date.  It also assumes that the FTA approves the project plans to advance under pre-award authority certain utility work at the bridges in 2014 ahead of the full funding agreement, with the bulk of construction starting in 2015 after receipt of the Full Funding Grant Agreement.

Potential Challenges

By filing an Expanded Environmental Notification Form, procuring multiple design consultants, and publishing both Draft and Final Environmental Impact Reports, MassDOT has met the first four interim milestones associated with the Green Line Extension project.  MassDOT – which has committed substantial resources to the Green Line Extension project, a top transportation priority of the Commonwealth and the largest expansion of the MBTA rapid transit system in decades – has transitioned the project from the planning and environmental review phases to design, engineering, and has begun construction, coupled with the tasks associated with applying for New Starts funding. 

In the 2011 SIP Status Report, MassDOT reported that the Green Line Extension project would not meet the legal deadline of December 31, 2014.  At that time, MassDOT projected a timeframe for the introduction of passenger service on the Green Line Extension.  The points within the timeframe are associated with different probabilities, as shown below:

10% Probability of Not Exceeding – Autumn 2018

90% Probability of Not Exceeding – Summer 2020

This schedule for overall project completion remains in effect.

MassDOT and the MBTA continue to seek measures to accelerate the project timeline wherever possible.  The phasing approach discussed above should provide for an accelerated delivery of some portions of the project.  In addition, MassDOT and the MBTA have succeeded in receiving legislative, Office of the Inspector General and MBTA Board of Directors authorization to use the CM/GC delivery method described above, which is expected to aid in meeting the dates above and overcoming some of the delays that were encountered related to the FONSI and the approval to enter into PE.

An additional major critical path item is the completion of the next steps in the New Starts process, including being able to complete the design and the finance plan to the extent necessary for completion of the September 2013 New Starts update to the FTA and completion of the package for initiation of the negotiations for a full funding grant agreement by February 2014.

Finally, although the goal of the phased project delivery approach is to complete components in an incremental manner, the timeline for overall project completion listed above represents a substantial delay beyond the current SIP deadline of December 31, 2014, triggering the need to provide interim emission reduction offset projects and measures for the period of the delay (beginning January 1, 2015).  Working with the Central Transportation Planning Staff, MassDOT and the MBTA are currently initiating the process of calculating the reductions of NMHC, CO, and NOx – reductions equal to or greater than the reductions projected for the Green Line Extension itself, as specified in the SIP regulation – that will be required for the period of the delay.  MassDOT and the MBTA have also worked with the public to develop a portfolio of interim projects and/or measures that may meet the requirements, and are currently seeking input from the public on the portfolio. 

In June 2012, MassDOT released a list of potential mitigation ideas received from the public that could be used as offset measures. MassDOT received public comments on the potential measures and is now moving forward with further refining – based on technical analyses and on the public comments received - potential portfolios of measures to present to DEP and the public for implementation in 2015.