MBTA, Transportation

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Did anyone seriously think MBTA officials would present a solution to the Green Line extension problem at Wednesday’s meeting of the Department of Transportation’s Board of Directors? Or go beyond hope that they would even identify the root of the problem?

The MBTA, then, did not disappoint. T officials, who had announced in August the project could be as much as $1 billion over budget, made a presentation to the directors that they would have a presentation by early December. And just to show they’re serious, they brought in not one, not two, not three, but four outside consultants to look at what happened, what can be done, and what the future holds for the derailed extension.

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But it’s really not the fault of the current leaders who have been hamstrung with projects spurred by a Big Dig hangover and a Legislature stung by cost overruns from the largest public construction boondoggle in history. That, added onto the systemic spider web of institutional inertia of the country’s oldest transit system and combined with increasing debt loads, has resulted in the inability to identify and repair problems ranging from aging equipment to getting the commuter rail operator to run consistently on time.

The Green Line extension is a result of a suit by environmentalists as part of the Big Dig mitigation. The T had already sunk the North Station and Haymarket stations to make way for the Big Dig. Extending the Green Line four stops to Medford was put on the drawing board. After years of stops and starts, the state finally put the project out to bid, but that has brought a whole new set of problems.

Instead of the traditional approach of designing a project then requesting bids and selecting the lowest bidder – an approach that resulted in the Big Dig going from a $2 billion project when first proposed to more than $24 billion when factoring in debt service – the Legislature authorized a new contracting method for the MBTA that is a hybrid of one used for the past decade in other areas, using it as a pilot project for potential future uses. Under the new process, the MBTA would select a contractor and then negotiate the price as the design of the extension took shape. The idea was for the cost to be a “maximum guaranteed price” with the contractor in at the ground floor of design and any cost overruns not approved by the T would be the responsibility of the contractor.

Good idea in theory, costly approach in reality. With the assumption of risk, T officials say it appears the contractor, White Skansa Kiewit Joint Venture, built the risk into the cost and its estimate for the first phase of the project came in more than double the T estimate. Projections for the remainder of the extension placed the overrun at anywhere from $700 million to $1 billion over the most recent estimate of $1.99 billion.

Under the law passed by the Legislature, if the T can’t pare down the estimate, they have the option to pull out of the contract and put it out to bid under the traditional approach, which would bar White Skansa Kiewit from entering the bidding.

But there’s also the option to put a halt to the entire project. Though no one says that’s the preferred route, it’s the one that is getting the most attention.

“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,” T General Manager Frank DePaola said in a statement.

Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack was a little more circumspect, saying the earliest the project can be restarted is next spring if all the pieces fall into place, including retaining nearly $1 billion in federal funds that could be lost if the scope of the extension changes considerably.

But one of the bigger obstacles will be convincing the new fiscal overlords that the authority has changed its stripes and is able to deliver something of this magnitude on time and on budget. The odds aren’t with them.

Joseph Aiello, chairman of the MBTA Fiscal and Management Control Board, told the Globe the Green Line extension is a “test” for the embattled agency.

“It is a test of us in a wide variety of dimensions,” he said. “Can we recognize what got broken? Can we fix all the elements of what got broken and have a path forward, and then implement the path forward precisely as we were going to implement them? It’s a giant test for us.”

When asked if the T can pass the exam, he uttered a response echoed by the hundreds of thousands who rely on the system every day. “We better,” he said.

—JACK SULLIVAN

BEACON HILL

Fantasy sports regulation (and possible taxation) seems likely on Beacon Hill. (CommonWealth) NFL teams are considering cutting their ties to the wagering websites. (Boston Globe)

The state may create a registry of convicted animal abusers. (Berkshire Eagle) The Christian Science Monitor offers an explainer.

The Legislature is haggling over the details of a program designed to fund public art projects in Boston and the Gateway Cities. (MassLive)

MUNICIPAL MATTERS

The Essex County Greenbelt Association is trying to pull together a land deal that would open up more than 500 acres of land in Hamilton to the public. (Salem News)

A Westport School Committee member has filed suit against the board and the school superintendent charging they tried to violate her civil rights by censuring her and removing her from subcommittee posts. (Herald News)

The Berkshire Eagle hails the decision by Lenox, Lee, and Stockbridge to share services.

Brookline selectmen vote to fire two town firefighters, one accused of beating a homeless man outside a taco shop, the other charged with drunken driving. (Boston Herald)

WASHINGTON/NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

GOP lawmakers have coordinated their questioning in preparation for Hillary Clinton‘s appearance today before the House committee investigating the events in Benghazi. (National Review)

Lawmakers in other states urge their colleagues to get out in front of marijuana regulation by legalizing it and setting up a regulatory framework before voters force the issue at the ballot box. (Governing) Marijuana use in the United States has doubled over the last 12 years. (Washington Post)

ELECTIONS

Globe columnist Yvonne Abraham begs Boston voters to make veteran incumbent Steve Murphy a former city councilor after next month’s election, saying no one more deserves to get the boot than the throwback pol who seems to clock light hours at City Hall.

In a heated debate, Fall River Mayor Sam Sutter repeatedly questioned City Councilor Jasiel Correia about his youth, inexperience, and immaturity, while the 23-year-old challenger said Sutter was launching personal attacks because he couldn’t defend his record as district attorney or mayor. (Herald News)

Poll data indicate Bernie Sanders may be hurting himself with some voters by describing himself as a socialist. (WBUR)

Joe Biden says it’s so: He won’t be a “go.” (Boston Globe) Peter Gelzinis says the veep is a class act. (Boston Herald) Lost in Biden’s announcement were several policy proposals, including capping tax deductions at 28 percent to help for initiatives such as 16 years of public education and an increased child-care tax credit. (Chronicle of Philanthropy)

BUSINESS/ECONOMY

Cambridge-based Biogen is cutting its workforce 11 percent, including 400 jobs in Massachusetts. (WBUR)

A new study finds boys are dramatically more hindered than girls by economic and social disadvantages that dog them through life. (New York Times)

Which Bay State towns have the most millionaires? The Boston Business Journal has news for you.

EDUCATION

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology will not divest its holdings in fossil fuel companies, arguing that maintaining the university’s ties to the firms is a better way to influence policy to combat climate change. (Boston Globe)

Telegram & Gazette columnist Dianne Williamson does a number on the UMass Medical School doctor who claims he wandered into a ladies restroom by mistake and snapped a picture of a woman in a stall.

Wendy Foster, of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay, offers tips for helping students mired in poverty. (CommonWealth)

A 16-year-old Methuen High School student is arrested after threatening to “shoot up” the school. (Eagle-Tribune)

HEALTH/HEALTH CARE

Opioid overdose deaths continue to rise, despite mounting attention to the epidemic. (Boston Globe)

The New Bedford City Council president wants the police chief to look into Gloucester’s Angel Program that puts addicts into treatment rather than jail and see if it will work in the Whaling City. (Standard-Times)

A 49-year-old man suffering from Parkinson’s-related tremors will undergo brain surgery on live television on Sunday, a spectacle some are calling a “circus” act that doctors should have no part in. (Stat)

TRANSPORTATION

Nearly 1,000 fasteners holding up lights in Big Dig tunnels are damaged and need to be repaired. (Boston Herald)

Cost overruns will likely delay the MBTA’s Green Line extension project. (WBUR)

Kenneth Green, the new chief of the MBTA Transit Police, is a Lynn guy. (The Item)

ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT

Massachusetts wins the top spot on a national energy efficiency scorecard for the fifth year in a row. (CommonWealth)

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Middlesex County Sheriff Peter Koutoujian will be among a group of law enforcement and corrections officials meeting today with President Obama to discuss efforts to reduce incarceration and recidivism rates. (Boston Globe)

An impressive panel of experts — former US attorneys Michael Sullivan and Donald Stern and former federal judge Nancy Gertner — disagreed on criminal contempt prosecution of James “Whitey” Bulger’s girlfriend Catherine Greig, with Gertner calling it “overkill” and the two former prosecutors saying it could shake loose information. Gertner also revealed she’s involved in the effort to get former House speaker Sal DiMasi compassionate release from federal prison because of his battle with cancer. (Greater Boston)

A Brockton man who runs a West Bridgewater cheerleading program has been charged with raping a 14-year-old student. (The Enterprise)

Attorney General Maura Healey wants to see the federal government overhaul regulations concerning inmate phone calls. (Associated Press)

A Saudi national attending school in Indiana is arrested for trying to lure a Danvers teen into having sex by posing as a girl on the Internet. (Salem News)

Meet the Author CommonWealth Staff

Sesame Street debuts its first autistic character. (Time)

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