Boston Globe: Questions arise how T plans to fund $1b Silver Line project

Questions arise how T plans to fund $1b Silver Line project
By Noah Bierman
Globe Staff / October 14, 2008



With Big Dig construction still fresh in Bostonians' memories, the MBTA is embarking on a 1.1-mile bus tunnel adjacent to the Boston Common that critics are dubbing the "Little Dig" because of its escalating price tag and potential for disruption.

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority managers consider the project - a high-speed bus line that bridges the two existing Silver Line routes - a key link in the transit system that will better connect the Back Bay, Roxbury, and other neighborhoods with the emerging South Boston waterfront and Logan International Airport. But it has long been a contentious project, with critics saying it's too disruptive and costly for a bus line, even if it is designed to provide a fast ride that eludes downtown traffic for much of its journey.

The MBTA, which kept the project temporarily on hold, is now pushing forward, recently submitting a third price estimate to the Federal Transit Administration of well over $1 billion and promoting the tunnel to neighborhood groups ahead of a public comment period in the coming months. Among several big-ticket transit projects in the planning stages, it is the closest to getting federal matching dollars, with the T hoping for a final decision in 2010.

But as the T's financial situation grows more dire, questions over paying the state's share - more than half a billion dollars - are growing among neighborhood groups, specialists, and transit advocacy organiza tions.

"The people that rely on the T the most, people of low income and communities of color, would mainly be the ones paying for this project, and they can't afford it," said John Cater, a member of the T Riders Union, which is based in Roxbury. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/10/14/questions_arise_how_t_plans_to_fund_1b_silver_line_project/

All the disadvantages of BRT without the advantages of lower cost and less construction than a light rail project.