www.mass.gov/southcoastrail
Spring always carries the promise of new activity. South Coast Rail continues to move this spring, with a key
federal grant secured to start bridge reconstruction, technical assistance underway and field work laying out
wetlands. Ever thought about designing your own train? Two young Fall River residents took on that challenge,
with some fun results. And there will be no summer vacation for station area planning: join us at a station
workshop in your neighborhood – see page 3 for a list. We want to hear your ideas.
MassDOT Wins TIGER Funds for Project Bridges
New Bedford Mayor Scott Lang welcomed Governor Deval Patrick, Congressmen Barney Frank and James McGovern, members
of the region’s legislative delegation and New Bedford City Councilors to the TIGER event announcement.
On February 17, 2010, Governor Deval Patrick traveled to
New Bedford City Hall to announce that Massachusetts
was awarded a major federal stimulus Transportation
Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER)
Grant to fund reconstruction of structurally-deficient rail
bridges in New Bedford. The grant represents a first step
in South Coast Rail construction.
Governor Patrick highlighted the benefits of the grant
for the project: “This is big news for South Coast Rail,”
he said. “We are creating immediate and permanent
jobs and jump-starting intercity rail service for South
Coast residents.” Governor Patrick was joined by
Congressmen Barney Frank and James McGovern,
Mayor Scott Lang, members of the New Bedford
City Council, members of the South Coast legislative
delegation and New Bedford neighbors and residents.
The application process for TIGER funding was very
competitive. More than 1,400 applications were submitted for the $1.5 billion in federal funds. The project,
known as Fast Track New Bedford, was one of only 51
projects selected for funding from across the country.
The $20 million TIGER grant was part of $95.5 million in
grants Massachusetts received. It will provide the funding
to move forward with groundbreaking of the Fast Track
New Bedford project. Located near the proposed Whale’s
Tooth Station, the rail will revitalize New Bedford’s
Continued on page 2.
South Coast Rail - July 2010 | Page 1
waterfront and initiate construction of a key component
of South Coast Rail. The rail project is expected to create
immediate construction jobs and reduce fuel consumption
by 292,000 gallons of gas per year.
The bridges that will be rebuilt with the TIGER grant
funds are immediately north of the planned Whale’s
Tooth Station for the South Coast Rail project. The freight
rail bridges are 103 years old and can only allow trains
to travel a maximum of 5 miles per hour. The rail tracks
in the area are also deficient and freight can travel only
at very limited speeds for safety reasons. Rebuilding the
bridges will allow freight to continue to be hauled by rail,
an environmentally-friendly way to transport goods. The
rail bridges are not only the first step in construction of
South Coast Rail – building from south to north – but
they will also open waterfront land for development.
Next Steps
MassDOT and the MBTA are completing final reviews
of the bridge designs. The MBTA plans to advertise for
construction this summer, with work to begin in fall
2010. The agencies are coordinating with the City of New
Bedford and other stakeholders to finalize the plans. The
bridges and intersections underneath the bridges will
have temporary closures during construction in order to
meet the requirements of the TIGER grant.
During this time, MassDOT will continue to work on
station planning. Station workshops, visualizations for
public review and other outreach will invite residents,
business owners and commuters to imagine what these
new places will look and feel like. n
See the sidebar on page 3 for more on station workshops.
Wetland Mitigation Planning
MassDOT has started planning for wetland mitigation for the South Coast Rail
project through a collaborative process involving environmental agencies and
conservation organizations. Typically, MassDOT would wait until a preferred
alternative has been identified to identify wetland mitigation sites, but due to the
scale of the project and the need to satisfy the state’s Secretary of Energy and
Environmental Affairs’ requirement for detailed mitigation plans and commitments,
MassDOT is starting early.
The federal and state wetlands regulations are both based on a policy of “no net
loss” of wetland functions. They require that the loss of wetlands be mitigated by
restoring historically filled or drained wetlands, creating new wetlands, enhancing
the functions and health of existing wetlands, or preserving wetlands and their
associated upland buffers.
In the Field
Delineating wetlands is part
of the environmental work
now underway for the South
Coast Rail project. Field staff
members from VHB, the
project’s design consultant,
are staking out the wetlands
with flags and obtaining precise
locations using GPS. This field
work provides a more accurate
estimate of the extent of
wetlands than initial estimates,
which depended on maps and
the state’s GIS data.
Identifying appropriate mitigation sites is a lengthy and complicated process. To
help us develop a plan that provides the South Coast the most benefit, MassDOT
has created a Wetland Mitigation Working Group. Participants include the Army
Corps of Engineers, US Environmental Protection Agency, MassDEP, Division of
Ecological Restoration, MassWildlife, The Trustees of Reservation, Mass Audubon,
The Nature Conservancy and SRPEDD. With the group’s help, MassDOT is
identifying sites within each regional watershed for potential wetland restoration,
wetland enhancement, and preservation of important wetland-upland complexes
that are threatened by development. The starting point is the project’s Corridor
Plan’s Priority Preservation Areas, which were developed town-by-town through a
bottom-up process. To identify good sites, the group will consider whether the site
is within an Area of Critical Environmental Concern, protects rare species habitat or
unique wetlands, protects vernal pools, enhances the functions of other protected
open space, or promotes wetland connectivity and functions.
The potential mitigation sites identified at this early stage of the process could
mitigate for wetland losses associated with any of the project’s alternatives,
including the Rapid Bus alternative. Once a preferred alternative is selected, the
project team will develop more detailed mitigation plans, including constructed
wetlands along the alignment to mitigate for some site-specific impacts.
Information on this process will be posted on www.mass.gov/southcoastrail.
South Coast Rail - July 2010 | Page 2
Technical Assistance Supports
South Coast Communities
When Governor Deval Patrick released the South
Coast Rail Economic Development and Land Use
Corridor Plan in summer 2009, he kicked off a multiyear program to protect and enhance the quality of life
on the South Coast. The Corridor Plan identifies areas
for protection and development in 31 communities.
The Technical Assistance Program provides cities and
towns the resources to realize these visions.
The Corridor Plan was developed by a broad-based
group of stakeholders, including local, regional and
state participants. Each South Coast community
identified priority protection and priority development
areas in conjunction with the regional planning
agencies, SRPEDD, OCPC and MAPC. These priority
areas identify locations suitable for new housing and
jobs, as well as areas that should be protected from
expanding residential and commercial development.
The plan outlines a number of implementation
strategies for achieving a more sustainable future for
the South Coast.
Over the last two years, MassDOT has worked with
the regional planning agencies and other consultants
to provide technical assistance to all 31 South
Coast cities and towns to begin implementing the
recommendations from the Corridor Plan. Many of
the smaller communities do not have planning staff,
capacity or funding to take on the development of
large planning initiatives and new zoning proposals.
Larger communities and cities are facing budget
stresses and are looking for assistance with planning
station areas, expanding housing and boosting
economic development. All of the communities are
striving to protect their valuable natural resources.
The type of assistance requested by the cities
and towns varies depending on local goals and
needs, but they share the common thread of
being consistent with the state’s Sustainable
Development Principles. All of the communities
play an important role in making the Corridor Plan
come alive. Assistance ranges from detailed station
area planning and visualization of these sites to
housing plans, open space bylaws and economic
development. Here are some of the actions being
taken by South Coast communities:
• Berkley and Rehoboth are developing new
zoning bylaws to cluster new homes in a way
that preserves open space. This development
Continued on page 4.
Station Planning is on Track
The Corridor Plan includes eleven concept plans
for station areas that were developed after public
workshops. The next step is to prepare more detailed
plans for these areas. This year, the project team is
working with Fall River, New Bedford, Freetown, North
Easton, and Stoughton. Next fall, we’ll expand these
efforts to include station areas in: Battleship Cove
(Fall River), Taunton, Raynham, and Easton Village.
For each station, MassDOT works with the regional
planning agency and the community to visualize what
the station area could look like. Consultants then
prepare graphic images of the station area from a
couple of viewpoints. These “visualizations” are then
presented in community workshops. The images are
prompting a lot of ideas and suggestions on local
zoning changes, landscaping, new development
opportunities, and how to reach the sites on foot, by
car or bicycle.
Nearly a hundred residents and business owners
participated in a January workshop on the Fall River
Depot site. The presentation included photos of the
former rail service, which ended in 1958, and a rendering
of the proposed Depot station. “Seeing” the station
prompted lots of suggestions, including designing a
station that reflects the city’s history; connecting with
the waterfront; focusing on jobs and small businesses;
and including enough parking for commuters, local
shoppers and business owners and visitors.
Upcoming Station Area Workshop
Freetown: Tuesday, July 13th; 5:30 – 7:30 PM;
Independence Harbor
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Agenda:
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MAKE YOUR VOICE
Topics Include:
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• Discussion on the Future
of Downtown
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Survey
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Freetown
Update
Thursday, June 10th from
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Station Area Workshop
Technical Assistance Opportunity
Applications for the third round of Technical Assistance to the
31 communities in the South Coast Rail corridor are due July
16. Visit the project website, www.mass.gov/southcoastrail
for more information, including the application and topic
areas being funded.
Ten Park Plaza, Room 4150
Boston, MA
For background information on the project,
go to
www.mass.gov/southcoastrail.
on
Massachusetts Department of Transportati
4150 and Public Works
Plaza,
of Transportation
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Boston, MA 02116
of South Coast Rail
Director
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Kristina
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Kristina Egan,
Town of Freetown
South Coast Rail - July 2010 | Page 3
Kristina Egan - Director,
Southeastern Regional Planning and
Economic Development District
Massachusetts Department of Transportation
Ten Park Plaza, Room 4150
Boston, MA
Kristina Egan - Director, South Coast Rail
South Coast Rail
Design your train
Meet the Winners
To celebrate the South Coast Rail Exhibit – I wish I were
riding the train! – the Fall River Library hosted a school
vacation week story time and contest for patrons of
the Children’s room. Children were invited to design
their own South Coast Rail engines and coaches. The
winners are depicted below. SRPEDD’s Greg Guimond
participated in story hour and brought samples from his
HO scale model train collection as well.
Continued from page 3.
method is called Open Space Residential
Development and it provides a better way of
building subdivisions by analyzing the unique
features of a site, placing the homes on
smaller lots, and permanently protecting the
natural resources present. Some open space
subdivisions end up permanently protecting
more than 50% of the site’s land area.
• A number of communities are tackling the
often difficult goal of providing a variety of
different types of housing for their residents by
developing housing plans and bylaws. Dighton,
Lakeville, Mattapoisett, North Attleboro,
Rochester, Seekonk, and Sharon are engaged in
planning efforts to proactively identify strategies
and sites for new homes that will broaden
the housing choices locally, while respecting
community character. By planning in advance,
towns can shape their future growth instead
of merely reacting to whatever development
proposal comes along.
• Other communities are taking a hard look at
Meet the Winners: 7-year-old Angelina Connelly (above) won
the younger age category with her “Happy Train” design in
pastel colors. Lucila Rodriguez (below), age 10, went with an
orange, yellow and blue palette for her winning entry in the
8 to 12 age group. Congratulations to all of the budding
transit designers who participated in the contest!
how to improve traffic, bicycle, and pedestrian
circulation and amenities. Raynham is conducting
a feasibility analysis for the area near the former
Dog Track station site that will help the Town and
property owners understand the benefits and
costs of different future development options in
that part of town. n
Contact Information
If you would like more information about the
project or to be added to the project distribution
list for email and U.S. Mail notifications of
meetings and other updates, please contact
Kristina Egan, Director of South Coast Rail, by
email at Kristina.Egan@state.ma.us or phone
at 617-645-6704. Project information and
updates, including a schedule of upcoming
meetings, are posted on the project website
at www.mass.gov/southcoastrail.
e
I wish I wgerthe train…
ridin
The South Coast Rail exhibit is ready
to visit your town as well. Call Kristina
Egan, Director of South Coast Rail, at
617-645-6704, for more information.
Massachusetts Department of Transportation
Ten Park Plaza, Room 4150
Boston, MA 02116
ibit
st Rail Exh
South Coa
Library
Fall River
Hallway
Children’s
South Coast Rail - July 2010 | Page 4