MGNA: Medford Green Line Neighborhood Alliance

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) will put out to bid the preliminary engineering work for the Green Line Extension project, after failing to get MassDOT board of directors support Tuesday for a contract amendment that would have covered the cost of the work.

David Mohler, Executive Director of Planning for MassDOT, withdrew a proposal to the board for a $24.5 million contract extension with a consulting group led by Vanasse, Hangen, Brustlin (VHB), after board members expressed concerns about the process.

VHB has been the lead consultant on the Green Line Extension environmental impact studies over the last three years, and its original $2.8 million contract for that work had previously been amended four times at a total additional cost of $9 million. But another amendment, although permissible according to the original contract, did not sit well with the board.

“I’m bothered by a contract that went from $2 million to $12 million and now would go to $36 million without another solicitation process,” board chair John R. Jenkins told Mohler. “It doesn’t feel good and I’m not assured we’re getting our value out of this project.”

Board member Janice Loux agreed, saying, “I think we are better served as an agency if we rebid this contract and with a closer eye on the subcontractors.”

MassDOT had presented the proposed amendment to the board at its August meeting, which was cut short when board member Elizabeth Levin recused herself from the vote, leaving the body short of a four-person quorum. Before that occurred, board members had questioned MassDOT presenter Steve Woelfel about the unusual nature of the procurement process, and also asked for more information about the qualifications of the proposed project team for preliminary engineering.

For Tuesday’s meeting, the board was provided memos addressing the propriety of the contract amendment, an overview of the proposed project team’s experience, and a six-page list showing the Green Line Extension “Civic Engagement Log” of public meetings and other events since October 2007 when the original VHB contract took effect. But the board remain unconvinced.

“I’m personally committed to this project and the last thing I want to do is slow it down, but I don’t think you’ve provided any new information since last month’s meeting,” said board member Andrew Whittle. “We’ve lost another month.”

The effect of Tuesday’s board inaction on the Green Line Extension project’s overall timetable was unclear. MassDOT officials had told the board that having to put the preliminary engineering contract out to bid could delay the project from 3 to 12 months. Jenkins questioned that estimate, and urged MassDOT to try to complete the procurement process in 60 days.

Mohler also noted that Transportation Secretary Jeffrey Mullan has discretion to authorize expenditures of up to $5 million for the project without board approval, meaning the existing VHB contract could again be amended in order to keep the project moving forward while bids are sought for preliminary engineering.

MassDOT has scheduled public information meetings on the Green Line Extension project for Sept. 28 in Somerville and Sept. 29 in Medford. Those sessions are to include an overview of the project work to date, and new information on the requirements the MBTA uses to design its stations. Public workshops on the Community Path extension in Somerville and on individual Green Line stations, along with a second meeting of the project Design Working Group, are being planned for October through December.

In July, MassDOT announced a delay in its projected completion schedule of Phase I of the Green Line Extension – to College Avenue in Medford and Union Square in Somerville – from Dec. 31, 2014 to October 2015.

The MassDOT Board of Directors will again be asked to approve a contract for preliminary engineering work for the Green Line Extension (GLX) project at its meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 7.

The board was unable to vote on the measure at its August meeting due to lack of a quorum.

The agenda for next week’s meeting describes the preliminary engineering measure as a “contract amendment,” which would refer to the contract under which a team of consultants, led by Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc., prepared the GLX Draft and Final Environmental Impact Reports for MassDOT.

The Final Environmental Impact Report was approved by the state Secretary of Environmental Affairs on July 30,  granting MassDOT permission to proceed with the preliminary engineering work.

Tuesday’s MassDOT board meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. in the MBTA boardroom, 10 Park Plaza, 3rd Floor, Boston. Public comments are accepted only during the first 15 minutes of the meeting.

At 3 p.m. Tuesday, the MBTA Board of Directors — whose makeup is the same as the MassDOT board — will meet at the same location. Click here for the meeting agenda.

An announcement from the Green Line Extension project team:

We are pleased to announce that MassDOT will host two educational public meetings to kick off the Preliminary Engineering phase of the Green Line Extension project. These meetings will also help inform the public Station Design Workshops, to be held later in the fall. Two educational meetings will be held, one each in Somerville and Medford. The presentations at the two meetings will be the same. The meetings will outline the requirements the MBTA uses to design its stations.

Each meeting will begin at 5:30 pm with a “Green Line Extension 101″ presentation for those who are less familiar with the project. New material will be presented starting at 6:15 pm. The first meeting will be held on September 28 at the Argenziano School (Cafetorium), 290 Washington Street, Somerville. The second meeting will be held on September 29 at Medford City Hall (Council Chambers), 85 George P. Hassett Drive.

The project website has also been updated to include the TIGER II grant application that the City of Somerville has filed for the Community Path Extension. MassDOT is pleased to have been a supporter of the application.

Please see the update below on the field work scheduled for the next two weeks:

Field Survey:

Weeks ending 9/3/10 and 9/10/10:

• Survey of drainage system inverts* within the Lowell Line Commuter Rail corridor

*Inverts are elevations of the interior bottom of the existing drain pipes measured at a drainage structure.

Boring Program:

Weeks ending 9/3/10 and 9/10/10:

• Borings within the MBTA Lowell Commuter Rail Line right-of-way from Harvard Street in Medford to Broadway Street in Medford
• Borings within the MBTA Lowell Commuter Rail Line right-of-way from Brookings Street in Medford to Broadway in Medford

Boring typically occurs between 7:00 AM and 3:30 PM on weekdays.

Please note that, as field work continues along the future Green Line Extension right-of-way, passing trains are required to blow their whistles whenever they are within the areas of the field work. While we recognize that this as an inconvenience for nearby residents, trains are required to blow their whistles as a vital safety measure along the right-of-way. We estimate that the work will continue to move north through October, and we will provide weekly updates until it is finished. We apologize for any disruption this may cause.

More information about the Green Line Extension project, including information about upcoming public meetings, can be found on the project website.  Should you have any questions, please contact Kate Fichter, Project Manager for the Green Line Extension, at katherine.fichter@state.ma.us. Kate is also blogging about the project at the MassDOT blog.

Thank you for your interest and participation.

The Green Line Extension Project Team