Dive Brief:
- Boston has introduced a $4.7 billion transportation initiative that will set the city's course for the next 13 years, according to the Boston Business Journal.
- The Go Boston 2030 Vision and Action plan, through approximately 58 transportation projects, aims to expand access throughout the city, increase safety and provide system reliability.
- Boston Mayor Martin Walsh said the projects outlined in the plan would better connect Boston residents to the area's employment centers, improve transportation equality, increase "economic mobility" and prepare the city's transportation system for the effects of climate change.
Dive Insight:
The agenda reflects a move away from cars and toward mass transit and other alternative forms of transportation like self-driving vehicles and bikes. Some of the prioritized initiatives include more rail extensions — similar to the beleaguered Green Line but ideally on a faster schedule — and hubs where commuters can catch various types of transportation including ride-share services and bike rentals.
The $2.3 billion Green Line extension has been on hold since 2015, and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority recently announced it had narrowed down the field of bidders for the project's reboot to three teams, consisting of such experienced infrastructure contractors as Fluor Enterprises, Granite Construction and Balfour Beatty. The project will be delivered as design-build, and, as a result of serious cost-cutting efforts, is projected to cost $620 million less than the original, although it will still be four years past the first set completion date.
The city of Boston is also making waves in the education construction arena. In January, Walsh announced a $1 billion, 10-year investment program for the city's aging school facilities. Walsh's "Build BPS (Boston Public Schools)" initiative will include new construction and upgrades to existing structures.
