Fluor JV wins Boston rail project

A Fluor-led joint venture has been awarded the Boston Green Line Light Rail Extension project in the US for an estimated US$2 billion.

Selected by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), the consortium includes UK-based Balfour Beatty Infrastructure and US-based companies Herzog Contracting Group and The Middlesex Corporation, with US-based Fluor overseeing the design and construction.

With the intention of improving local and regional mobility, the project will involve the construction of two distinct branches – a mainline branch operating within the existing right-of-way for the MBTA Lowell Line beginning at a relocated Lechmere Station in Cambridge and travelling north to Medford; and a branch line operating within the existing right-of-way for the MBTA Fitchburg Line to Union Square in Somerville.

It will also require seven new stations and a vehicle storage and maintenance facility to be built.

It was said that the rail extension would offer a one-seat ride to downtown Boston, shorter journey times, and result in fewer cars on local roads, helping to combat greenhouse gas emissions.

The projected daily ridership at the seven stations is estimated to be 45,000 by 2030.

Construction work is slated to begin in 2018, with the line opening for service in 2021.