Rising Costs May Delay Green Line Extension Project

The Green Line extension project could be delayed due to rising costs and work may be put on hold until Spring 2016, according to a Boston Herald report.

Analysis conducted by the MBTA indicates project costs have exceeded original estimates by up to $1 billion. Funding for the project was originally budgeted at $2 billion.

“This setback requires changes to the project and/or additional sources of funding, as well as reconsideration of whether MassDOT and the MBTA can continue with the project,” MBTA GM Frank DePaola said in a statement obtained by the newspaper.

The project, which is underway, was designed to extend Green Line service from Lechmere Station in East Cambridge to Union Square in Somerville and College Avenue in Medford.

The MBTA could raise train fares and parking fees in order to chip away at the budget shortfall, according to the report.