Photo: Madison Rogers/WBZ NewsRadio
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — In a reversal, MassDOT Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt told elected officials that a plan to realign the Massachusetts Turnpike in Allston now includes a train yard.
The $2-billion Allston Multimodal Project aims to replace the Allston Viaduct and redo the Allston Interchange to make room for a commuter rail stop, housing, and businesses. But whether or not it would include a train yard has been a point of contention.
The multi-acre layover yard would house Amtrak and MBTA diesel trains, and local leaders have expressed concern about exhaust and noise.
MassDOT said in a statement to WBZ NewsRadio that including the train yard is necessary for their goals to “expand rail service across the state, including West-East Rail and the Worcester Line.”
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This is a 180 from what Secretary Tibbits-Nutt told transportation advocates at the 2024 WalkMass Annual Celebration back in April.
“The layover’s got to go,” she said. “The big thing we’re waiting on right now is we’ve got to find where that layover space is going to go for the T. So, this is a time where we could put pressure on the city of Boston because we need [Widett Circle in South Boston].”
The MBTA announced in 2023 it had purchased Widett Circle to be used as a layover for trains operating out of South Station. But, MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng told the Boston Globe last month that the extra space in Allston would allow for Amtrak train parking and more rail service to Western Mass.
Boston City Councilor Liz Breadon, who serves Allston and Brighton, said she was disappointed by MassDOT’s decision, saying that if the plan is finalized it would have “serious negative environmental impacts on the Allston neighborhood and will significantly reduce the amount of land that can be used to create much-needed transit-oriented house.”
“I urge MassDOT and the MBTA to determine a more appropriate location for this layover space and work with community members to design a project that will enable the creation of a dense, mixed-use neighborhood in Allston,” Breadon said.
WBZ NewsRadio's Madison Rogers (@madisonwbz) reports.
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