MBTA Receives Over $66 Million in Federal Funding for Accessibility Improvements at Symphony Station

The MBTA is pleased to announce that the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has awarded the T with over $66 million in funding for accessibility improvements at Symphony station, which was constructed in 1941 and is one of downtown Boston’s last inaccessible underground Green Line stations. The funding comes as part of the FTA’s FY 2022 All Stations Accessibility Program (ASAP), which aims to improve America’s oldest transit systems nationwide so they are accessible for people with disabilities. This is the first round of this new competitive grant program that was authorized in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) signed by President Biden in 2021.

As part of the Green Line Transformation program, the MBTA’s Capital Programs team is working on major improvements as part of the Symphony Station Accessibility Improvements Project, which will enhance the customer experience, modernize the Station, and ensure equitable access to public transit on the Green Line E Branch, which serves one of Boston’s busiest cultural and historical neighborhoods. This discretionary federal funding will allow for the construction of four new elevators, step-free pathways, accessible single-stall bathrooms, improved wayfinding and lighting elements, upgraded safety features, and raised platforms for easier boarding of trains.

The design work for the project is 100% complete, and the MBTA has a contract in place to start utility relocation in the spring of 2023. This work will not impact Green Line service. In the fall of 2023, the MBTA plans to solicit bids for the station work, which will begin in 2024.

-via Press Release

FRA Makes More Than $2 Billion in New Funding Available to Continue Improving America’s Busiest Passenger Rail Corridor

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) that makes available over $2 billion in Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program funding for projects located on the Northeast Corridor (Fed State-NEC). The corridor supports 800,000 passengers per day and billions of dollars in annual economic activity.