The Patrick-Murray Administration today announced the completion and opening of Route 24 Interchange 8B, a signature project that created jobs while investing in the state’s infrastructure to enhance long term economic development. The $35 million project created a new exit and interchange, 8B, between the existing exits 8 and 9 on Route 24 in Freetown and is funded by the Obama Administration's federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
The project will reduce congestion at exits 8, 9 and South Main Street while providing access to the new Fall River Executive Park. The project constructed a new street, Executive Park Drive, connecting Riggenbach Road and South Main Street and providing access to the Executive Park and the Exit 8B ramps. The project also includes a new bridge to carry Executive Park Drive over Route 24 and entrance and exit ramps to connect Route 24 north and southbound to Executive Park Drive.
The project work began in early 2010 and has been completed on schedule in less than two years. To speed construction and minimize the disruption to the traveling public, MassDOT used an expedited design/build approach to construction management. More information is available on the Interchange 8B Project website.
Federal Stimulus
January 11, 2012
October 25, 2011
MBTA Kingston Wind Turbine
MassDOT Secretary Richard A. Davey today joined state and local officials to break ground on the Kingston Wind Turbine Program at the Kingston Layover Facility. The 100-kilowatt wind turbine will power 65 percent of the Kingston commuter rail station's energy supply. The $2.5 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) project builds on the Patrick-Murray Administration's investment in transportation infrastructure and is another step toward a more energy efficient Commonwealth.
The $2.5 million ARRA Transit Investments Generating Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reductions grant funds the 120-foot-tall turbine that will power the station's energy supply to the parking lot, station platforms, and plug--ins for locomotives. The grant also funds a second 300-kilowatt turbine to be installed along the commuter rail tracks in Bridgewater. The two wind turbines when operational will save the MBTA approximately $100,000 annually in electricity costs.
The wind turbine will be constructed on the north side of the commuter rail tracks between the maintenance and substation structures. Construction will begin immediately.
October 24, 2011
New Starts Grant Upgrades Fitchburg Rail Line
MassDOT Secretary Richard Davey today joined Congressman John Olver, Congresswoman Niki Tsongas, and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Administrator Peter Rogoff in Littleton to officially announce $75 million in FTA New Starts funding for the Fitchburg Commuter Rail Line Improvement Project.
“This investment in the Fitchburg Line will reduce travel times for commuters, while expanding service to underserved regions of the Commonwealth,” said Governor Deval Patrick.
The MBTA along with the Montachusett Regional Transit Authority are making extensive improvements to modernize the Fitchburg Rail Line and provide greatly improved service and reliability to riders and commuters in the 50-mile long corridor from Fitchburg to Boston.
“As we continue to improve passenger rail service, upgrades to the Fitchburg Line will make a real difference for commuters while also enhancing opportunities for regional economic growth, “said Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray.
The Fitchburg Commuter Rail Line Improvement Project is a $159 million project including the $75 million federal New Starts Program grant with state matching funds, creating 260 jobs. The work will include the installation of new switches and signals as well as two new renovated stations and the reconstruction of existing track on the state's oldest commuter rail line, serving 17 communities at 18 rail stations.
Funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act are also supporting a double track project as part of the overall effort to improve the Fitchburg Line and reduce travel times.
October 20, 2011
Knowledge Corridor Rail Project Creates Jobs
Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray today joined Congressman John Olver, Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Szabo, MassDOT Secretary and CEO Richard A. Davey, and state and local officials in Greenfield to officially announce the revitalization of the “Knowledge Corridor” along the Connecticut River rail line in western Massachusetts. The project is funded by $73 million in federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grants and will create more than 360 construction jobs in the region.
MassDOT in June 2011 signed the agreements with the Federal Railroad Administration to proceed with the “Knowledge Corridor” project to revitalize the existing Connecticut River rail line, which runs from Connecticut through Massachusetts to Vermont. The project will restore Amtrak’s Vermonter train service to the line, providing a more direct route, faster service and restored access to the cities of Greenfield and Northampton. Revitalization of the Knowledge Corridor route will restore the original route of the Vermonter traveling between St. Albans, Vermont and Washington, DC. The project is expected to begin in 2012 and be completed in approximately two years.
“The Governor and Lieutenant Governor from the beginning have formed meaningful partnerships with the New England states, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and Amtrak to implement a coordinated plan for better regional rail service,” said Secretary Davey. “The Knowledge Corridor is a perfect example of the success of these partnerships.”
The improvements to the Knowledge Corridor will occur on the Connecticut River mainline of the Pan Am Southern railroad, a joint venture between Pan Am Railways and Norfolk Southern to improve freight service for customers along the line and within western Massachusetts.
The Patrick-Murray Administration and New England's Governors are working together on a coordinated regional Vision for the New England High Speed and Intercity Rail Network lays out key projects to strengthen passenger and freight rail service along new and existing rail corridors. The goal is to double passenger rail ridership in the Northeast by 2030.
October 18, 2011
Federal Funds to Purchase 30 Regional Buses
MassDOT has received $18.4 million from the Federal Transit Administration's 2011 State-of-Good Repair Program to replace its entire statewide regional fleet of 30 buses.
Customers throughout Massachusetts can expect to see the new buses operating under their host carriers
by late 2012.
The federal funds will purchase thirty state-of-the-art 45-foot ADA accessible passenger buses equipped with next generation clean diesel engines and power train systems. The new buses will replace all MassDOT 1998 diesel-powered buses, providing a significant positive impact on air quality through reduced emissions while offering passengers the most advanced safe and convenient transportation.
This regional bus network is critical to the mobility and economic vitality of Commonwealth communities, providing links with intercity passenger rail, human service transportation, water transportation, and the MBTA and Regional Transit Authority transit systems. This network provides rural access to Franklin, Barnstable and Berkshire Counties, and to revitalized Gateway Cities in Worcester, New Bedford, Fall River, Springfield and Pittsfield.
Massachusetts has one of the most multimodal public transportation networks in the nation, with the MBTA, 15 Regional Transit Authorities, and the state’s regional bus transportation network linking all parts of New England and Massachusetts to Boston. The regional network operates twenty-two regularly scheduled weekday routes with a fleet of 77 private and MassDOT-owned buses. Over 12,000 weekday commuters, regional visitors and residents use the network for travel to and from South Station and Logan International Airport.
September 22, 2011
Governor Patrick: American Jobs Act Boosts Transportation Projects
Governor Deval Patrick today called on Congress to pass President Obama’s American Jobs Act as he visited the nine-year-old temporary Fore River Bridge connecting Quincy and Weymouth.
The President’s plan includes more than $850 million for Massachusetts’ highway and transit modernization projects. With additional federal funds available to build a new Fore River Bridge and replace others across the state, MassDOT could replace an additional 19 structurally deficient bridges, reducing the current backlog.
"There are projects like this one and workers ready to do them all over Massachusetts,” said Governor Patrick. “President Obama's plan will make a difference for our people and our economy, and I call on Congress to pass the American Jobs Act bill quickly.”
The Fore River Bridge project will build a new vertical lift bridge, with construction expected to begin in 2012. Currently, the state is expected to pay 20 percent of the $285 million project cost. Under the President’s bill, the project would be entirely federally-funded, freeing up state funds to invest in other structurally deficient bridges.
President Obama’s Jobs Act includes $50 billion to modernize highways, transit, rail and aviation, putting hundreds of thousands of construction workers back on the job. In Massachusetts, the President’s plan invests more than $850 million in highway and transit projects, supporting more than 11,100 local jobs.
The original Fore River Bridge built in 1936 was demolished in 2004 after it was found years earlier to have significantly deteriorated. A temporary bridge was erected to keep traffic moving along Route 3A.
Today, that temporary bridge is nearing the end of its intended lifespan and is in need of constant maintenance to remain open. The bridge is a primary connection between Quincy and Weymouth and carries more than 36,000 vehicles per day. The bridge spans a U.S. Coast Guard regulated navigable channel leading to a designated port area.
The replacement of the Fore River Bridge is part of Governor Patrick's Accelerated Bridge Program to repair or replace structurally-deficient bridges across the Commonwealth. The Fore River Bridge Project is one of the largest in the program.
To learn more, visit the Fore River Bridge project website.
September 15, 2011
Freetown Route 24 Interchange 8B Next Steps
The Freetown Route 24 Interchange 8B project continues this month with the installation of the wildlife crossing underneath the highway, one of several project components currently underway.
To allow for the crossing installation, temporary overnight full closures of Route 24 northbound and southbound will occur on certain nights during September beginning tonight. Closures will not impact traffic during morning and evening peak commuting times.
Route 24 southbound is scheduled to be closed tonight, September 15, from approximately 8pm to 5am and on Friday night, September 16, from 8pm to 12pm Noon on Saturday, September 17.
Route 24 northbound is scheduled to be closed Friday night, September 23, from 8pm until 12pm Noon, Saturday, September 24. Dates assume favorable weather conditions.
Detoured southbound traffic will exit Route 24 at Exit 9 – Route 79 North Freetown and Middleborough and travel south along Route 79, also known as South Main Street and reenter the highway at the new Executive Park Drive on-ramp at interchange 8B.
Detoured northbound traffic will exit Route 24 at the Executive Park Drive off-ramp at interchange 8B and travel north along Route 79 to the Exit 9 interchange where it can reenter Route 24.
The Route 24 Interchange 8B project funded by the federal stimulus American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will create a new interchange in Freetown between the existing exits 8 and 9. The new interchange will reduce congestion at exits 8 and 9 and on South Main Street while providing access to the new Fall River Executive Park.
For more information visit the Route 24 Interchange 8B project website.
July 05, 2011
Knowledge Corridor Rail Project Advances
The Patrick-Murray Administration announced the U.S. Department of Transportation has signed the agreements to award nearly $73 million for construction of the “Knowledge Corridor” along the Connecticut River rail line in western Massachusetts. The Federal Railroad Administration grant is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
The project will revitalize the existing Connecticut River rail line which runs from Connecticut, through Massachusetts to Vermont and restore Amtrak Vermonter service to the line, providing a more direct route, faster service and restored access to the cities of Northampton and Greenfield. The project will create an estimated 367 jobs during construction. The construction is expected to begin in summer 2011 with completion in late 2013.
“This project highlights the successful partnership the Patrick-Murray Administration has formed with the New England states, the U.S. DOT, and Amtrak,” said MassDOT Secretary & CEO Jeff Mullan. “The result will be improved commuter and freight rail service from border to border across western Massachusetts.”
In addition to the service at stations in Greenfield and Northampton, the Vermonter will continue to stop at Springfield Union station. The improvements to the Knowledge Corridor will occur on the Connecticut River mainline of the Pan Am Southern railroad, a joint venture between Pan Am Railways and Norfolk Southern, and improving freight service for customers along the line and within western Massachusetts.
Governor Patrick and New England Governors are working together on a coordinated regional vision for high speed rail that will connect major cities and airports, and support economic growth throughout the region. The Vision for the New England High Speed and Intercity Rail Network lays out key projects to strengthen passenger and freight rail service along new and existing rail corridors. The goal is to double passenger rail ridership in the Northeast by 2030.
June 28, 2011
MassDOT Focus: Cost Savings
Posted by Jeff Mullan, MassDOT Secretary & CEO
Recently, the New England Center for Investigative Reporting undertook a review of the progress we have made since we began implementing transportation reform in 2009. I am glad that they did, and thank them for their review of the information and the record. The most critical outcome of the review is whether transportation reform is on track to save “over $2B” over the next twenty years, as we are currently trending, or “up to $6.4B” as a national financial consultant had estimated was possible prior to the passage of the reform law.
This is a good problem to have – how many billions of dollars are we saving the Commonwealth’s taxpayers, farepayers and tollpayers? For the record, every cent we save is important, and we are proud to have documented such a large savings in just 18 short months. Indeed, the amount we have documented is conservative. Some of the efficiencies that have been created such as the restructuring of our snow and ice program that we estimate has achieved $50 million in savings are more properly characterized “avoided costs.”
The published report also focused on the number of DOT employees. When the merger was announced, we estimated that 300 positions could be eliminated due to administrative duplication. This is a common occurrence in mergers, and we have documented that we have achieved this reduction. However, we never sought to stop investing in the Commonwealth’s infrastructure – and we need people to do that. Thanks in part to the Governor’s historic Accelerated Bridge Program and in part to the Federal stimulus projects, we have grown our highway and transit reinvestment program by over 100% in three short years. Hiring engineers and other professionals to manage these projects has very nearly evened out employee reductions that we achieved by the merger.
When we began to design a new unified transportation organization at the direction of Governor Patrick, we developed four goals against which we would measure our success:
• To save money
• To improve customer service
• To invest in every region of the Commonwealth
• To improve employee morale and workplace culture
With the support of the legislature, the Governor signed transportation reform into law two years ago and MassDOT saw its first official day on November 1, 2009. Nearly two years later, while we are making progress in fulfilling all of these objectives, we are far from being done implementing the law and all that it represents. We are committed to doing so.
We will continue to work toward saving every bit of money we can, and, as I have told all who will listen, after 18 months it is simply too early to project how much transportation reform will save over the next 18 years. What’s important is that the savings are large regardless of who is counting, that we are working hard to save more money every single day, that we are putting people to work on the front lines rebuilding Commonwealth roads, bridges and transit systems, and that we are making progress on improving our customer service and employee morale.
June 06, 2011
I-93 Medford Bridges: 1st Weekend Success
The first I-93 rapid bridge superstructure replacements in Medford as part of the 93Fast14 project were completed successfully and well ahead of schedule late Sunday, June 5.
The first location on I-93 north over Riverside Avenue is seen at left as of 7:00pm Sunday, with the new superstructure in place and being prepared to reopen to traffic. A permanent barrier to replace the temporary barriers seen at the location will be completed in the coming weeks.
I-93 was completely reopened to traffic just before 10:00 PM, seven hours ahead of schedule.
To see more photos of the project on the web, visit the project gallery.
Check out the new interactive project website with maps, video, project updates, and helpful links at www.mass.gov/massdot/93fast14.
During the upcoming weekend of June 10-13, two bridge superstructures will be replaced carrying I-93 northbound over Salem Street/Route 60. At 8:00 PM on June 10, northbound traffic on I-93 will cross over onto the opposite side of the highway. Both roads will fully reopen at 5:00 AM on Monday, June 13.
As the 93Fast14 project continues on weekends in June, July and August except for the July 4th weekend, MassDOT strongly advises drivers to plan their travel routes and times carefully and to use alternate routes or public transportation to avoid this area if possible. MassDOT recommends drivers that do not have a destination in the Medford/Downtown Boston area use alternate routes [I-495, I-95 (Route 128), Route 1 and I-90] to avoid the construction area.
The $98.1 million project to replace the fourteen bridge superstructures in Medford is funded through the Patrick-Murray Administration’s historic Accelerated Bridge Program to reduce the Commonwealth’s backlog of structurally-deficient bridges.
