Silver agreement
CONGRATULATIONS ARE in order for the MBTA, the state Commonwealth Development Office, the City of Boston, and the Artery Business committee, which worked hard to site an entrance to the Silver Line tunnel under downtown Boston. The T's next task is to earn the support of Bay Village residents for a project that promises enormous long-term benefits for the city.
The tunnel would connect the South End-Roxbury portion of the Silver Line with the tunnel that runs under the South Boston waterfront from South Station. The connected Silver Line holds the promise of linking residents of the South End, Roxbury, and the Back Bay with the jobs that will be created along the waterfront and those that already exist at Logan Airport, where the Silver Line buses travel after they exit the waterfront tunnel.
The T is seeking 60 percent federal funding for the $770 million project, but had to put its application on hold last year because of a deadlock about where the tunnel would be located, just north of the Massachusetts Turnpike. Abutters objected to whatever route was considered.
Now the T has settled on a solution that recognizes that the tunnel is important to encouraging growth along the waterfront and relieving pressure on existing subway lines. Buses would enter the tunnel at Tremont Street, just north of the Pike, and go under Charles Street until they reach Boylston Street. T General Manager Daniel Grabauskas hopes to present this alternative to the federal government in June.
State Transportation Secretary John Cogliano suggested last month that he might favor running buses along surface roads to South Station, but that's a bad idea. Douglas Foy, the state's chief of commonwealth development, advocated for the tunnel in the realization that the Silver Line will be unappealing to commuters if the buses are stalled in traffic. Cogliano joined with Foy and Grabauskas in announcing the new plan on Thursday.
The tunnel would go along the edge of Bay Village, and it is important that the T address abutters' legitimate concerns. Mark Slater, president of the neighborhood association, is worried about vibrations from construction damaging the early 19th-century homes. ''They weren't built for rich people," he said over the telephone, ''corners were cut."
Grabauskas points with pride to the T's success in safeguarding the Russia Wharf complex as it built the waterfront tunnel. He needs to convince Bay Village that similar care will be taken with their homes. With the residents' support, the T can go to the federal government with the assurance that this tunnel option really is a consensus choice.
