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Boston miffed over long delayed Big Dig transportation project

No, not the Green Line extension. NorthEndWaterfront.com reports the Boston Conservation Commission is wagging its collective finger at the state over the continued non-existence of a usable dock at Atlantic Wharf on Fort Point Channel, despite a state promise to have one built as part of mitigation for the Big Dig.

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Comments

I should really stop being surprised by how many of those mitigation efforts never have or will be completed. I still have my doubts about the Medford green line.

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Big Dig transit mitigation requirments that were completed:
-Build a new commuter rail platform in Lynn (completed in 1992)
-Add another track at South Station for commuter rail (completed many years ago)
-buy 400 new buses (these were purchased in 1994-95, what's left of this order are now the oldest buses in the MBTA fleet)
-Extend commuter rail to Worcester
-Extend commuter rail to Newburyport
-Build the Middleborough, Kingston, and Greenbush Old Colony commuter rail lines
-Washington St. replacement service (Silver Line, the mitigation agreement allowed bus and did not mandate light rail)
-open the South Boston Piers Transit Way (Silver Line Waterfront)
-add 20,000 new parking spaces to rapid transit and commuter rail stations
-Extend Blue Line platforms to run 6-car trains
-extend commuter rail to T.F Green

Projects that are no longer required (law/agreement changed in 2008)
-new Orange Line cars-this was changed to Orange Line signal improvements, which are complete
-build Red/Blue connector-this was changed to an obligation to only design the Red/Blue connector.
-Arborway Line restoration-this was changed to Route 39 bus improvements and several other new obligations were added (see below)

Projects which are still required, not yet complete:
-Green Line to Somerville including branch to Union Sq. (the Union Sq. branch was not required in the original 1990 agreement, only Medford Hillside was required, it was added in the 2008 changed agreement)
-Add additional stations to Fairmount Line-three are under construction, the fourth is in design. New Fairmount Line stations were not in the original 1990 agreement, but were added in 2008 to help replace Arborway Line and Red/Blue connector
-Add 1000 addtional parking spaces, beyond the 20,000 originally required in 1990. Most have been added, the new garage under construction at Wonderland will finish the obligation
-design Red/Blue connector (no longer legally required to build)
-add two boat docks-Lovejoy Wharf was added but as noted, a second one near Russia Wharf was not. Considering that the MBTA stopped running service to Lovejoy Wharf because of low ridership, there has not been much pressure to add the second wharf.

Some people think extending the Blue Line to Lynn is a required mitigation item, but it was never in the orignal 1990 agreement and it was never added in whan the agreement was changed in 2008.

The most recent state report on the projects:
http://www.eot.state.ma.us/downloads/sip/SIP_Statu...

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This was part of the Russia/Atlantic Wharf project from the start. It was one of the first items completed during construction. Here's is an aerial view from Google Maps: http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=42.352742,-71...

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Ask the city to build something, and what do they tell you? "We can't possibly do that in these economic times." But somehow, the state is sitting on a pot of gold just begging to be spent. Guess what? The state thinks that the pot of gold is in Washington.

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