Healey, Menino Tout Newly-Renovated Savin Hill Station

Emphasizing the Administration’s commitment to improve public transportation, Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey today joined Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino to celebrate the re-opening of the newly renovated Savin Hill Station on the MBTA’s Red Line in Dorchester. “The Commonwealth needs a state-of-the-art transportation system to make it as easy as possible for our citizens to get to work in the morning and get home to their loved ones at night,” said Healey. “Making sure that MBTA stations are up-to-date will help ensure that neighborhoods in Dorchester and around Boston continue to grow, develop, and prosper.” Originally built in 1927, the Savin Hill Station was in dire need of renovations, the Station and platform upgrades were made in 1982 when the Red Line's tracks were replaced, but the station was never fully reconstructed. The facility now boasts a new head house, extended platforms to accommodate six-car trains, and a new escalator and elevators. “A neighborhood that is growing as quickly as Dorchester deserves a train station that is modern and accessible. Having safer, cleaner and improved access to the Red Line will improve the quality of life in Savin Hill,” said Menino. “I'm proud that by working together with the MBTA and the community, we're promoting improvements that will give residents better access to good, quality public transportation.” Savin Hill, which was closed for 14 months, is the first of three stations to be completed under a $67 million station rehabilitation contract in Dorchester. The other two stations, Shawmut and Fields Corner, are slated for completion in 2006 and 2007 respectively. The upgrades will bring the stations into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and provide state-of-the-art amenities, including LED display signs and updated communications and security systems. “Governor Romney and Lieutenant Governor Healey have stressed time and again that we need to invest in our urban centers,” said Transportation Secretary John Cogliano. “This refurbished station lives up to the spirit of that sentiment, and it delivers a great new transit improvement in the heart of Dorchester.” The unique designs of all four Dorchester stations were a direct result of years of dialogue between MBTA staff, neighborhood residents, community activists and elected officials. Construction will begin at Ashmont after the MBTA Board of Directors awards a contract with the entire project scheduled to be completed three years from now. “This is a great day for the residents of Savin Hill,” said MBTA General Manager Daniel A. Grabauskas. “This new station is testament to the T’s commitment to Boston’s neighborhoods by providing transit dependent residents with services that are clean, accessible, safe, and reliable.” The reconstruction of the Red Line stations was awarded to Barletta Construction in September of 2003. Construction commenced in October of 2003.