DUKE RAILS AT LINK COST
Says MassDOT overestimating tab for connecting North, South stations
Former Gov. Michael Dukakis blasted MassDOT yesterday over a study into the North-South Rail Link he has long advocated, claiming it lays out an “inconceivable” cost overestimate.
“This study is preposterous,” Dukakis told the board that oversees the Department of Transportation about the up-to-$18 billion estimate yesterday. “It’s beyond belief.”
The North-South Rail Link is a long-envisioned proposal that would create a tunnel under downtown Boston to connect the Commuter Rail lines north of the city with the ones south of town.
The southern lines end at South Station and the northern lines finish at North Station — and no MBTA lines directly connect the two stations. The tunnel would allow commuter rail trains to pass through and continue on to the other side of the city.
The most recent study, which was published in September, puts the cost between $6.1 billion and $12.6 billion in 2018 dollars — $8.7 billion to $17.8 billion in 2028 money, when the project would be at its halfway point. The lower end of the spectrum would create a tunnel wide enough for two tracks to run through, while the higher end would be for a four-track tunnel.
Dukakis compared the project to other tunneling efforts in other cities that didn’t cost near that much.
“It’s inconceivable to me,” Dukakis said.
Dukakis and former Gov. William Weld have long pushed for the project.
“Some jobs northwest and north of Boston are out of reach to people on the South Shore,” said Weld, who lives in Canton.
Various advocates in the unusually large crowd railed against the numbers.
“Not only does it inflate the cost, but it downplays the benefits,” said John Kiper of the Sierra Club.
All three of the two-track tunnel alignments actually ran below the U.S. average per mile, according to Scott Hamwey, the rail link’s project manager for MassDOT.
Gov. Charlie Baker has noted the importance of getting people from South Station to North Station and back but has said tunnels appear uncomfortably expensive.
Baker spokeswoman Sarah Finlaw said, “The governor believes that any discussion of this link should include a review of all transportation options that could be utilized to meet this important goal.”
Braintree Mayor Joseph Sullivan, who sits on the MassDOT board, said the state should try to figure out ways of funding the project, despite overrun worries.
“Some of that comes from what I call the Big Dig hangover,” Sullivan said, referencing the infamously overbudget highway project. “It’s a mentality we have to overcome.”