Northern Tier Rail Gets Strong Support at Hearing iberkshires.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from iberkshires.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is finalizing its report on the feasibility of the Northern Tier Rail Expansion Project, which would bring passenger rail service between Boston and Northwestern Massachusetts for the first time since 1956, with a likely terminus in North Adams, Mass.
More than 200 people joined an online meeting last night on the Cape Cod bridge replacement plan, and many raised questions about the bridge locations, height, pedestrian safety, and other issues.
Mary Jane Mastrangelo, a member of the Bourne Select Board, said residents of the host community need more information from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and its consultants about properties that could be affected by the new, larger bridges.
“There was a comment that there was an impact on some Sagamore businesses on the canal,” she said. “What businesses are those? And how are those going to be impacted?”
Officials identified some of the properties that lie in the path of the proposed $4 billion project. Both bridges would be closer to the middle of the canal meaning the Bourne Bridge would move east, and the Sagamore Bridge would move west.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation estimates that creating a passenger rail service between North Adams and Boston could cost billions but would save commuters millions in transportation every year. State Rep. John Barrett III (D-North Adams) and State Rep. Tricia Farley Bouvier (D-Pittsfield) agree that the cost would be well worth it.