FTA to fund $1 billion for MBTA Green Line extension

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) earlier this week announced it would provide nearly $1 billion for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's (MBTA) Green Line extension project.

The FTA's grant of $996,121,000 will fund 43 percent of the project's total cost of $2.3 billion, Boston area news organizations reported this week.

The Green Line project will construct 4.7 miles of light-rail service to extend the Green Line from Cambridge into Somerville and Medford. The project consists of two branches: a mainline operating within the existing MBTA Lowell Line's right of way, which will begin at a relocated Lechmere Station in Cambridge, and travel north to Medford; and a branch line operating within the Fitchburg Line's right of way to Union Square in Sommerville, according to the project website.

Seven new stations will be built, including the relocated Lechmere Station. The project is an initiative of the MBTA and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.