By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org
NASHUA, NH — New Hampshire could have commuter rail service connecting Nashua, Manchester and its airport with the MBTA line at Lowell, Mass., in the coming years as the Executive Council has approved a $5.4 million engineering and public outreach contract for the NH Capitol Corridor rail project.
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Former Executive Councilor Debora Pignatelli, D-Nashua, said she was proud that among her last votes in her most recent two-year term on the Council was to see "the needle move" on this long-discussed commuter rail project. It could reduce congestion on the roadways in southern New Hampshire connecting Massachusetts, improve the chance young professionals would move to the Granite State, and have many other positive economic and social impacts, Pignatelli said. The Council voted unanimously Dec. 18 to allow the Department of Transportation to contract with AECOM Technical Services Inc. of Manchester to refine costs, develop a realistic financial plan, provide management, coordination, and communication, conduct sufficient engineering to complete a federal environmental analysis, and complete designs plans and specifications, among other tasks, for the $5,448,607 contract.