Also on hand was U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters, who along with touting the Orange Line project detailed a program the Bush administration is proposing to reform how transportation projects are funded. By providing local officials with the federal funds directly, as well as greater flexibility on investing that money, the Metropolitan Mobility Program would move along necessary transportation projects much faster, Peters said.
A $40 million Orange Line station that would be part of a new waterfront district next to the Assembly Square Mall is in the works.
State and federal transportation officials gathered along the banks of the Mystic River yesterday to announce the project. The state is seeking $25 million in federal grants for the station, while a private developer, Federal Realty, has agreed to chip in $15 million. Though federal officials only received the proposal papers two weeks ago, Federal Transit Administrator Jim Simpson asserted, “I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t get funded.”
The proposed Assembly Square station is part of a massive redevelopment project by Federal Realty to build a new “urban village” next to the current Assembly Square Mall that will include residential, office, retail and green space, restaurants and a movie theater. Construction of the T station is expected to last from 2010 to 2013.
Somerville officials hope this proposed MBTA station — which would fall between Wellington and Sullivan Square stations on the Orange Line — will attract riders in the Assembly Square area.
While Transportation Secretary Bernard Cohen acknowledged the MBTA is struggling to maintain its infrastructure, he asserted that “if we lose sight of our need to grow our transportation system, then we’re going to lose sight of our ability to grow our economy.”