NASHUA, NH – Community Development Director Matt Sullivan, Economic Development Director Liz Hannum and Jay Doyle from infrastructure consulting firm AECOM gave an update Wednesday night on the commuter rail exploration project before the Committee on Infrastructure.
Discussions of the commuter rail project began in 2014 when the New Hampshire Department of Transportation introduced extending the MBTA (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority) commuter rail 30 miles from Lowell to Manchester. After further planning and completing 30 percent of the design, the state decided not to advance the project based on a vote made by the Executive Council.
The cities of Nashua and Manchester discussed potentially funding the completion of the study, but Manchester was not in a position to do so at the time. Nashua then got permission from the Board of Alderman to proceed with Step 1/Task 1 of a Nashua First Initial Operating Segment (IOS).
The IOS project would upgrade the existing railroad infrastructure of around 13.3 miles from Lowell to Nashua, with a proposed south station in the vicinity of the Pheasant Lane Mall and another at Crown Street.
It is estimated that Nashua First IOS could cost between $250 million to $280 million, but updated analyses would be needed to get a more accurate estimate.
“Step one task two includes a couple next steps that are really important for understanding further the viability of this project,” Sullivan said. “We believe we need this new information around ridership and cost to really understand what this project means for the city of Nashua.”
Hannum added, “We will not know if we are in a ‘go’ or ‘no go’ situation until after step one task two.”
Step 1/Task 1, cost about $70,000 to complete. Step 1/Task 2 – not yet funded – will cost approximately $210,000, but the exact number has to be determined. The Board of Aldermen will be asked for the money to fund this next step in the coming few months, according to director of administrative services Tim Cummings.
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