GLX project timeline pushed back to 2022
Commuters will have to wait longer to ride the T from Union Square or Tufts, as the Fiscal and Management Control Board announced the project will be delayed for five months.
“There is schedule pressure, and there always has been schedule pressure, and that was only (exacerbated) from COVID-19,” Green Line Extension Project Manager John Dalton said. “We’re still working through that.”
Dalton told board members that the project is about 80% complete. The Union Square branch is ahead of the Medford branch, with 100% of its track in place as well as vehicle maintenance facilities, and is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
The Medford branch of the project, which will extend to near the Tufts University campus, is expected to wrap up in May 2022. Originally, the Union Square Branch was expected to open in October, and the Medford Branch was expected to open in December.
Despite the delays, Dalton told the board that the project is in a “very solid financial position,” adding that five years ago, “we could say nothing of that nature.”
The schedule pressure has been caused by, and could continue to be caused by, about 130 change orders to the original construction plan that remain open, delays caused by COVID-19, and unpredictable site conditions such as buried objects. Potential litigation risks caused by the impact of COVID-19 also remain, which Dalton said could affect any large-scale project like GLX.
The settlement agreement with the contractor that Dalton brought to the board addressed all these issues and closed out all COVID-19 impacts, both direct (sanitization and PPE costs, for example) and indirect (construction delays). It also incorporated outstanding costs caused by the extra time needed to complete the project. The settlement value is not to exceed $80 million and was universally approved by the board.
MBTA spokesperson Lisa Battiston said in a statement to the State House News Service that there is no pending lawsuit filed against GLX.
“However, the contractor has formally notified the MBTA of being impacted for both time and money due to COVID 19,” she said in a statement.
Steve Poftak, the general manager of the MBTA, said Somerville and Cambridge will not have to contribute future funds to GLX thanks to federal American Rescue Plan money, as well as “careful management of this project,” he said. The cities will also be recouped for funds already committed to the project, barring any unforeseen circumstances.
Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone, who spoke at the meeting, said he would have liked to have it done “today,” but he can see its progress daily. “We’re gonna ride that first leg by the end of the calendar year,” he said.