Green Line Extension Working Toward Grant, Meeting Slated Next Week

Planners for the Green Line Extension project have been working toward a Federal grant that would fund nearly half of the $1 billion-plus project, and they intend to give an update on its progress next week.

The Green Line Extension Project Team will hold a working group meeting that's open to the publc on Oct. 30, where they will give an update on the progress on grant applications to the Federal Transit Administration's New Starts Program, according to a release from the Department of Transportation.

In June, the state's Department of Transportation announced the Green Line Extension had been added to the master list for the FTA's New Starts program, the first step in potentially winning federal money for the project. New Starts funds a wide range of transportation projects that extend pre-existing systems, including subway, light rail, commuter rail and bus rapid transit systems

The Green Line Extension will extend the MBTA's Green Line from its current terminal station - Lechmere in Cambridge - through Somerville, to a terminal station near the Tufts University campus at the intersection of Boston Avenue and College Avenue in Medford. It is projected to be completed in 2020 and cost $1.3 billion.