BOSTON — Federal transportation officials have given the green light on a new estimate for the long-awaited 4.5-mile extension to the MBTA’s Green Line.
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority officials said they received a report Monday agreeing with the $2.3 billion estimate for the extension.
The project was put on hold for a year after cost estimates ballooned to about $3 billion.
The now-approved, above-ground extension will add six new stations from Lechmere to Union Square, and another five stations north from Lechmere to Gilman Square and Ball Square before ending in Medford.
“I’m excited,” Cambridge resident Jeffrey Dixon said. “It will be good, but I’m disappointed it’s not going to be as nice as it would have been.”
The cities of Somerville and Cambridge will chip in a combined $75 million for the project, which will take years to complete.
The extension, if the project stays on track, should be completed by the end of 2021.
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