>>> THERE'S BEEN LOTS OF TRANSPORTATION NEWS IN
MASSACHUSETTS IN RECENT WEEKS - THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF
TRANSPORTATION RECENTLY COMPLETED ITS STUDY OF 1-91 IN
THE REGION, A REPORT THAT WAS YEARS IN THE MAKING.
AMONG THE FINDINGS THERE, IT'S UNLIKELY
THAT I-91 IN SPRINGFIELD WILL BE PLACED UNDERGROUND.
AND THE STATE HAS TAKEN THE NEXT STEP
TOWARD AN IN-DEPTH STUDY OF WEST TO EAST RAIL SERVICE IN MA
I ASKED TIM BRENNAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OF THE PIONEER VALLEY
PLANNING COMMISSION WHAT'S BEHIND THE TIMING NOW?
>> GETTING A CONTRACT IN PLACE BETWEEN THE CONSULTANT,
THEY'VE IDENTIFIED A PREFERRED CONSULTANT, THEY'RE
NEGOTIATING TO GET A CONTRACT.
THEY WON'T REVEAL, WHICH IS STANDARD OPERATING PRACTICE.
AND ONCE THE CONTRACT IS SET.
>> REVEAL SPECIFICALLY WHO IS GOING TO DO THE PROPOSAL.
>> ONCE THAT CONTRACT IS SET, THEN THE CONTRACTOR GETS A
NOTICE TO PROCEED.
THERE'S AN 18-MONTH TIME LINE ON IT.
MY GUESS IS WE'RE PROBABLY A MONTH OR TWO OUT BEFORE WE
WOULD GET THAT ANNOUNCEMENT.
AND THEN THE WORK WOULD BEGIN TO FLOW.
PROBABLY THREE MONTHS AFTER THAT, FOUR MONTHS, THERE WOULD
BE THE FIRST WORK GROUP MEETING.
>> WOW.
SO PROBABLY WITHIN THE NEXT SIX MONTHS WE'LL HAVE SOME
NEWS ABOUT THE STATUS OF WHAT'S GOING ON AND SOME OF
THE FINDINGS MAYBE EVEN?
>> THEY WANT TO TRY TO GET A FINDINGS REPORT OUT WITHIN A
YEAR.
SO PROBABLY BY THE END OF 2019, IF THEY ARE ABLE TO
STICK WITH THAT TIME LINE, YOU'D BE SEEING THE REPORT.
>> IS THIS SOONER THAN EXPECTED IN YOUR MIND OR IS IT
ABOUT ON TRACK WITH WHAT YOU EXPECTED?
>> ABOUT ON TRACK.
NOTHING UNUSUAL.
PRETTY MUCH MASS-DOT HONORED THEIR PROMISE TO TRY TO GET
QUICKLY OUT OF THE STATE RAIL PLAN, WHICH WAS LAST MARCH,
INTO THIS RAIL STUDY, I THINK THEY'VE DONE A GOOD JOB IN
TERMS OF MOVING IT ALONG.
>> OBVIOUSLY WE KNOW WHERE CURRENT RAIL LINE EXISTS, WE
KNOW WHERE SOME OF THE GAPS AR.
BUT WHAT DO YOU EXPECT TO SEE OUT OF AN ACTUAL DANIGIBLE
PRODUCT?
>> IT'S GOING TO BE COMPLICATED.
AS THE SPOKESWOMAN POINTED OUT AT THE MEETING, IT HAS SIX
ALTERNATIVES, IT'S NOT LIKE EASY SLIDE FROM ONE
ALTERNATIVE TO THE NEXT, THERE'S A HIGH-SPEED PIECE IN,
RUNNING TRAINS TO SPRINGFIELD AND OCCASIONAL TRAINS OUT TO
PITSFIELD.
>> THAT WAS A PITT OF A SURPRISE, THE PITTSFIELD
PART.
THERE WAS SOME CONCERN THAT WOULDN'T GET DONE IN THIS
ROUND?
>> WHAT HAPPENED THERE WAS THE STATE HEARD A LOT OF ADVOCACY
OUT OF THE BERKSHIRES TO BE LOOKED AT, IF THERE WAS GOING
TO BE ANOTHER STUDY, AND THEY HONORED THAT.
SIMILAR EXAMPLE WAS PALMER HAS ALWAYS WANTED A STOP AND IT
WAS REALLY IFFY IF THEY'D GET ONE.
IT LOOKS LIKE THEY WILL BE LOOKED AT IN TERMS OF THAT
OPTION.
>> IN TERMS OF ASSESSING THOSE SIX DIFFERENT OPTIONS, DO YOU
HAVE ANY SENSE OF ANYTHING THAT'S JUMPING OUT TO YOU AS
ONE THAT YOU THINK OR TWO THAT YOU THINK THESE ARE MORE
VIABLE THAN THE OTHERS?
>> WELL, ACTUALLY, THERE WAS A PREVIOUS STUDY THAT WE WERE
VERY MUCH ENAMORED WITH THAT CAME OUT IN JUNE OF '16 AND
TALKED ABOUT A TRADITIONAL RAIL CONNECTION, BOSTON,
WORCESTER, SPRINGFIELD, HARTFORD, NEW HAVEN.
AND THE REASON FOR THAT IS THE RIDERSHIP, BECAUSE IT GOES
THROUGH ALL THOSE METRO AREAS.
SORT OF CONNECTS TWO BARBELLS, BOSTON AND NEW YORK CITY.
YOU WANT RIDERS TO MAKE A RAIL SYSTEM VIABLE.
WHAT I'VE ADVOCATED, IT SOUNDS LIKE THEY MAY LOOK AT, AT
LEAST ONE OF THOSE SIX ALTERNATIVES IS TO NOT THROW
AWAY THE HEADING SOUTH PIECE, WHICH I THINK WILL ULTIMATELY
MAKE A LOT OF SENSE IN TERMS OF FEASIBILITY, MORE RIDERS
YOU HAVE, MORE FARES YOU HAVE, THE LESS EXPENSIVE IT IS FOR
PUBLIC MONEYS TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.
>> THE ARGUMENT AGAINST ADDING IN THE SOUTHERN LINK BE IT'S
GOING TO SLOW IT DOWN AND OVERALL, YOU WANT TO KEEP THE
TRAIN TRIP FROM HERE TO BOSTON UNDER WHAT YOU WOULD DO IN A
CAR?
>> YES, TRUE.
BUT PART OF THE THING THAT I THINK WE TRY TO TALK ABOUT
LAST TIME WAS, YOU CAN GO FROM SPRINGFIELD TO BOSTON IN A CAR
IN ABOUT AN HOUR AND A HALF IF THE CAR IS MOVING.
>> YEAH, RIGHT, IF YOU'RE NOT IN BOTTLENECK TRAFFIC.
>> I DO IT A ALL THE TIME, AND I COUNT ON OFTENTIMES THREE
HOURS NOW.
BECAUSE YOU CAN GO SO FAR AND YOU HIT A WALL AND YOU CRAWL
THE REST OF THE WAY.
IF YOU'RE ON A TRAIN, FIRST OF ALL, YOU'RE RELEASED FROM
DRIVING AND THEN IF YOU GET THINGS LIKE HIGH BANDWIDTH AND
WI-FI ON THE TRAIN, YOU CAN WORK ON THE TRAIN.
SO IN TODAY -- >> YOU DON'T HAVE TO PAY FOR
PARKING IN BOSTON?
>> YEAH.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF FEATURES.
AND AGAIN WE'RE NOT WORKING IN THIS SORT OF ATYPICAL --
PEOPLE DON'T ALWAYS WORK 9:00 TO 5:00, THEY DON'T WORK
FIVE DAYS A WEEK.
LOTS OF PEOPLE WORK OUT OF THEIR HOME AND COMMUTE
OCCASIONALLY TO METRO CENTERS.
SO IN ANY EVENT, I HOPE THAT WE CAN GET A RAIL ALTERNATIVE
THAT COULD BE DONE WITHIN A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME.
>> ANOTHER PIECE OF TRANSPORTATION NEWS THAT CAME
OUT RECENTLY IS THE MASS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
FINISHED ITS LONG TALKED ABOUT -- LONG WORK GROUP, LONG
STUDIED REPORT OF I-91 AND WHAT IT WOULD LIKE TO SEE
HAPPEN THERE.
PERHAPS NOT A SURPRISE, BUT A PIECE OF NEWS THAT CAME OUT IS
THAT 91 COMING THROUGH SPRINGFIELD WILL NOT BE PUT
UNDERGROUND.
MERELY A DOLLARS AND SENSE DECISION THERE?
>> YES, I THINK IT IS.
THEY LOOKED AT TWO SUNKEN ALTERNATIVES, THESE WEREN'T
COMPLETE TUNNELS, BY THE WAY.
EACH OF THEM HAVE A PRICE TAG OVER $3 BILLION.
THEN THERE WAS ANOTHER ALTERNATIVE, SUPER ELEVATED,
YOU COMPLETELY REBUILD AT OVERGRADE, AND THAT HAD A
PRICE GRADE OF AROUND $3.1 BILLION.
GOT TO KEEP THAT B IF IN THE EQUATION.
SO THEY GRAVITATED BACK TO A REBUILD AS WE WOULD KNOW IT
NOW.
IT WOULD NEED A LOT MORE WORK IN THE NEXT ITERATION BECAUSE
A LOT OF STRUCTURAL WORK WOULD HAVE TO BE DONE AS WELL.
AS A PRICE TAG OF $695 MILLION.
>> KEEPING THE HIGHWAY AS IS WAS CONTROVERSIAL WHEN IT
FIRST CAME OUT BECAUSE IT DIVIDED COMMUNITIES HERE IN
DOWNTOWN SPRINGFIELD.
IN YOUR MIND, IS THIS JUST ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF BOSTON GETS
SOMETHING, BIG DIG WAS OBVIOUSLY A MASSIVE
TRANSPORTATION PROJECT THAT TOOK LARGE PORTIONS AND OUT IT
UNDERGROUND.
BOSTON GETS THINGS THAT WESTERN MASS DOESN'T?
>> WELL, THERE'S SOME OF THAT, THAT WAS ABSOLUTELY TRUE
DURING THE BIG DIG ERA.
WE SAW OUR FORTUNES AND AMOUNT OF MONEYS PLUMMET, AND IT GOT
TO THE POINT AFTER THE MEDIA SORT OF PUSHED OUT THE ACTUAL
COSTS OF THE DIG, ALL KINDS OF THINGS HAPPENED, THE FEDS
CAPPED THE AMOUNT OF MONEY, THEY INSISTED A CERTAIN AMOUNT
OF MONEY HAD TO FLOW OUT TO THE RELATE OF THE
COMMONWEALTH.
THE LEGISLATURE FOLLOWED SUIT.
SO WE'VE BEEN IN RECOVERY MODE FOR ALL THAT TIME.
HAVING SAID THAT, WHAT ALSO HAPPENED WITH THAT DELAY, LOTS
MORE PROJECTS BACKED UP BEHIND US.
AND WE JUST HAVE A HUGE AMOUNT OF BACKLOG THAT THE PRICE TAGS
ARE JUST INCREDIBLE.
>> YEAH, AS IT IS, LOOKING AT NOT ONLY THE SPRINGFIELD PIECE
OF THIS, BUT ALSO THEN FIXING SOME PARTS OF I-91 IN LONG
MEADOW AND SOME OTHER GRIDLOCK AREAS, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT
OVER $800 MILLION PRICE TAG AND IT LOOKS LIKE AS THE
REPORT SAID, IT WILL BE PORTIONED OUT OVER 10 OR 12
YEARS AS REPORTED BY MASSLIVE?
>> THAT'S ACTUALLY THE PIECES THAT WE THINK, I'M TALKING
FROM THE PLANNING PERSPECTIVE, AND PLANNING COMMISSION
PERSPECTIVE, THOSE PROJECTS ARE WORTHY PROJECTS, AND COULD
BE DONE OVER THE NEXT 15 TO 20 YEARS, THEY WOULD MAKE A
DIFFERENCE.
WE'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO STRAIGHTEN OUT THE SPAGHETTI
DOWN AT THE SOUTH END BRIDGE, THERE'S A LOT OF SAFETY
PROBLEMS, CAPACITY PROBLEMS, LANE DROPS, WE THINK ALL THAT
COULD BE SORTED OUT, PLUS BEING ABLE TO GO CROSS-RIVER
WITH A BIKEWAY FACILITY.
ONE SIDE OR THE OTHER.
WE ARE HOPEFUL THAT WE CAN REALLY FOCUS ON THOSE
PROJECTS, PHASE THEM OVER TIME, TO MAKE THE BITE
FINANCIALLY A LITTLE BIT MORE MODEST.
AND 25, 30 YEARS FROM NOW WILL COME VIADUCT WHATEVER, NEW ONE
WE IMAGINE AT THAT TIME.