The Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation (EOT) is scheduled to conduct a public meeting on Monday, October 26 regarding the Red Line/Blue Line Connector, a significant transportation project that will be examined in a Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) in 2010. From 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., the meeting will be held in the auditorium at The Shriners Hospital, 51 Blossom St., Boston. Some Chelsea residents have expressed worry about the direction of this meeting, fearing that state officials may be backing away from their commitment to build the connector. According to the meeting announcement, the bimonthly gathering—which brings together a project working group comprising community members, business representatives, neighborhood groups, City of Boston officials and other municipal representatives—will examine ‘alternatives’ to a Red Line/Blue Line Connector. “The project will look at options for extending the Blue Line approximately 1,500 feet to make a connection with the Charles/MGH Station on the Red Line,” an EOT spokesperson stated. “Alternatives for the project are under investigation and include options with the existing Bowdoin Station eliminated or reconfigured.” Chelsea residents worry that ‘alternative’ might mean abandoning the project entirely due to cost concerns and pursuing a less expensive solution, possibly involving shuttle bus service, to link the Blue and Red Lines.
The Red Line/Blue Line Connector represents a vital MBTA undertaking that was pledged to Chelsea to improve transit for residents commuting to Cambridge jobs or appointments at Mass General. The state has allocated $29 million for subway tunnel design, and the EOT recently convened another project working group meeting for the connector. This latest gathering formally launched the public involvement phase, which will feature public meetings as the initiative progresses. Discussion at the Boston meeting addressed how the Red Line/Blue Line Connector would unite the only two MBTA rapid transit lines that currently do not intersect. Running from Bowdoin Station in downtown Boston to Wonderland Station in Revere, the Blue Line spans approximately seven miles. The project will evaluate options for extending the Blue Line roughly 1,500 feet to connect with the Charles/MGH Station on the Red Line.
A key Big Dig mitigation commitment, the Red Line/Blue Line Connector was intended to significantly improve the lives of Chelsea residents traveling to Mass General appointments or Cambridge employment. The Romney administration, however, attempted to abandon the state’s pledge to Chelsea regarding this connector. The commitment to extend the Blue Line to the Charles/MGH stop on the Red Line was nearly discarded by Romney until the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) brought legal action against the state. In 2006, while Romney remained in office, his administration reversed course and executed an agreement to proceed with long-standing projects including the Red-Blue Connector, establishing interim deadlines for existing projects and strengthening public participation and oversight mechanisms. The CLF had filed suit in March 2005 against the Commonwealth, contending that the state had substantially failed to deliver on numerous transit projects promised to communities to mitigate increased traffic and pollution resulting from the Big Dig. Under the resulting settlement, the Commonwealth is required to complete a final design of the Red-Blue connector, which will link the Blue Line at Government Center to the Red Line’s Charles/MGH station.
