Green Line extension project in increasing jeopardy

[keithn.livejournal.com]

There have been two new developments over the last 24 hours, from the Globe:

• Yesterday: State won’t rule out canceling Green Line extension
• Today: Several Green Line extension firms lose T contracts

I'm not seeing much of a reason to be optimistic about the GLX project at this point.

Comments

[wintahill.livejournal.com]

The MBTA/MassDOT just posted an official announcement.

No new construction on the GLX will be commenced. The remainder of entire project will be put out for re-bid. :(

[dmaze]

Here's the actual press release. This actually seems promising to me: my understanding of the situation is that the CM/GC process, as it was implemented for the GLX, essentially allowed the contractor to name their price with no competition or negotiation, so what this is really saying is "we want to start the bid process over with something actually sensible". The press release language about "aggressively adjusting the design" bugs me; as proposed, $2-3 billion already seemed incredibly expensive for laying new rail on existing rights-of-way (the $2 billion number was already at the top of the range for comparable recent US projects) and I'd like to believe that the original design could be completed for much less money. This isn't saying "the project is dead", quite yet, and I'm guessing they want to avoid saying that as long as they can to keep the federal money they have.

[teko.livejournal.com]

Exactly; the bid process, as it existed, was totally insane. They had somehow agreed to a process that allowed the contractor to set its own price and change that price while the work was being done without any negotiation. It shouldn't be shocking that the costs of the GLX were skyrocketing while the work was being done extraordinarily slowly.

I think the city's smart to re-bid the project to give it a chance before giving up. They were being terribly screwed.

[wintahill.livejournal.com]

I don't disagree with either of you. I completely agree that the price tag was pretty insane for a 4ish mile extension on a mostly existing right of way. It seems too many pigs were at the trough for this project as it was planned. I would love to see it built, not in the least because it would directly benefit me, but I am getting more pessimistic as the years drag on.

At the very minimum this redesign, rebidding, and construction freeze will most likely add several years onto the completion time line. I do hope they can get the costs under control and ultimately salvage the project though.