$100 Million for Silver Line; "Little Big Dig" Dead

Governor Deval Patrick and Mayor Tom Menino held a joint press conference this afternoon pledging more than $100 million in federal highway stimulus money toward improving bus rapid transit (BRT) in Boston. The money will be used to expand the Silver Line from Dudley Square to South Station while bypassing the "Little Big Dig," the billion dollar tunnel that was to have been built underneath the Boston Common. BRT will also be expanded during the next three years to improve Silver Line travel times and to expand service from Ruggles Station to Mattapan. Opponents of BRT, including State Representatives Byron Rushing and Gloria Fox, see the project as a mixed blessing that does not address the rapid transit needs of Roxbury residents. [UHub, Mass.gov]