Approval of Boston's $14-billion Big Dig included an array of mitigating transit projects. Now the State is having second thoughts.
In order to get permission to place the Central Artery underground- and widen it- the state agreed that it would vastly improve transit in the region to make up for the extra pollution the new road would create. The Central Artery is done -- at a cost of $14 billion -- but many of the transit commitments are not even begun. Now the state is saying it might not want to build all of these new transit projects. The local organization that pushed for the projects in the first place is now saying it might sue the state to ensure that the promises are kept.
"The commitments were made in 1990 in a deal that cleared the way for the $14.6 billion Big Dig. The rationale was that improving the transit system would give motorists an alternative to the new underground highway system, thus reducing air pollution. The state already missed one round of deadlines on the transit projects in the late 1990s and was ordered by a judge to meet a new set of target dates."
Thanks to Jeff Levine
FULL STORY: As Big Dig Transit Projects Stall Lawsuit Looms
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