There’s a new project underway in Boston that will greatly benefit the city’s public transit. Many thought it was a stalled enterprise, but now, with a $225 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration, the Green Line Extension finally started earlier this week. National and local officials sparked the beginning of the extension by breaking ground at the site, including U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, Governor Charlie Baker, and Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone. While the extension is only 5 miles of track, it will cut down on traffic by 25,728 miles. The project will also include seven new stations, the repair or replacement of eight bridges, and a brand new bike path. Furthermore, it will foster transit-related development through Somerville. For example, new projects have already opened in anticipation of this new service, like The Sphere in Ball Square and Union Square Apartments. Other developers are currently looking for opportunities as the project progresses. Overall, this expansion is expected to cost around $2.3 billion with the goal of having the service up and running by late 2021. While this is technically the fourth groundbreaking of the Green Line Extension, “This one’s real,” as former mayor of Somerville, and now as congressman for the area, US Representative Michael Capuano puts it. Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker said at the groundbreaking ceremony, “We proved that in a very difficult project with a very bad set of options a whole bunch of people… found a way to come together, dramatically reduced the overall price of this project, recreated, and reimagined it in a way that delivered exactly what people had originally believed this was intended to serve.” As members of the Boston construction and engineering community, as well as commuters in the area, we at Fenagh are looking forward to the project’s long-awaited completion. If you don’t already, Follow Us on LinkedIn!