$1B Gap Imperils Boston Green Line Project

A $1 billion funding gap could jeopardize completion of the Green Line light rail extension north of Boston, Massachusetts transportation officials said.

Canceling the project could open the commonwealth to a lawsuit, given the federal government's requirement to extend the line as part of a settlement in the Big Dig megaproject. In addition, the federal Department of Transportation could withhold funding.

"Every option is on the table and that has to include mothball or cancelling the project, but that's not where we want to go," state transportation Commissioner Stephanie Pollack said Monday before a meeting of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's Fiscal and Management Control Board. The MBTA is a unit of the state DOT.

"What we want to do is figure out how to get the cost down and find some additional revenue so we can make the numbers work."

The federal government has committed $996 million to the project. The commonwealth is responsible for cost overruns. The state contribution comes from special obligation transit bonds. Under state legislation that passed earlier this year, the MBTA control board must approve contracts of at least $15 million.

According to a report by the MBTA, costs related to expanding the line from its current Lechmere Square terminus in East Cambridge to Somerville and Medford will "substantially exceed" the original $2 billion by roughly $700 million to $1 billion. State officials acknowledged that work costs have soared since the original estimate, which came during the 2008 recession.

Other options, said Pollack, include negotiating with contractors and identifying additional funding from sources other than state-issued bonds. The latter could include reallocating $158 million in federal funds earmarked for the extension of state Route 16; obtaining more funds from affected communities Cambridge, Somerville and Medford; and contributions from private parties including Medford-based Tufts University.

The project would relocate Lechmere station to anchor North Point development in Cambridge, while six new stations in Somerville would anchor transit-oriented development. A separate branch beyond Lechmere would carry riders to Medford.

According to the MBTA, the project will enable 70% of residents in 79,000-population Somerville -- one of the most densely populated cities in the U.S. - to walk to a rail station. The current figure is 20%.

"Developers have shown a far greater interest in developing near stations such as Union Square [Somerville] - far more so than developing around a bus station," the MBTA report said.