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Boston Infrastructure Projects Face Key Decisions on Timelines and Coordination
Officials must now align spending schedules and neighborhood impacts across multiple rail, highway and street initiatives funded through city and federal sources.
How we reported this
The MBTA awarded the $1.06 billion North Station Draw One Bridge Replacement project to Skanska, a contract that will replace the aging rail span linking Boston, Cambridge and Somerville.
Boston’s Fiscal Year 2026-2030 Capital Plan sets aside nearly $136 million for street reconstruction, resurfacing and accessible sidewalk repairs in every neighborhood. That allocation arrives as the MBTA carries out its separate $9.6 billion, five-year capital investment plan for station renovations, fare-system upgrades and bus, subway and ferry improvements. The overlap means city and state agencies must now decide how to sequence work so that traffic disruptions do not compound across the same corridors.
Neighborhood projects already under contract
In Mattapan, $31.5 million of construction on Cummins Highway is scheduled for completion in 2026. The work includes traffic changes, full road reconstruction and new pedestrian ramps. At the same time, the city has secured $335.4 million in federal funds for the Allston Multimodal Project, which will rebuild the I-90 interchange to add better connections for cars, buses, cyclists and pedestrians. Both projects sit inside the same five-year window as the larger MBTA spending plan, creating pressure on permitting and contractor availability.
Choices that will shape delivery
Transportation officials must now decide whether to accelerate or stagger the Cummins Highway work so crews can shift to Allston once that federal money begins to flow. They also face choices on how to coordinate the North Station bridge replacement with the MBTA’s station-modernization program, since both affect rail service between North Station and points north. The $136 million street-repair fund adds another layer: the city must allocate those dollars across neighborhoods without delaying the larger state and federal contracts already under way. Final sequencing decisions will determine whether residents see overlapping closures or a more measured rollout through 2030.