Press Release  Healey-Driscoll Administration Celebrates Winning $335.4 Million in Federal Funding for Allston Multimodal Project

Boston — The Healey-Driscoll Administration is today celebrating news that it has won $335.4 million in federal funding for the Allston Multimodal Project in Boston.  

The project will replace the Allston Viaduct, which carries the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90) from the Allston Interchange to the Commonwealth Avenue Bridge and makes transportation infrastructure improvements to nearby roads and the railroad corridor. Additionally, the project will create new and improved access to expanded waterfront parks and open space in an Environmental Justice community. It includes construction of the MBTA’s West Station along the Worcester Commuter Rail Line, a new bicycle and pedestrian bridge, and four acres of new parkland. 

The award announced today follows the administration’s application in September 2023 to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s “Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods Grant Program” (RCN) that provides funding to remove or mitigate highways and other transportation infrastructure that create barriers for community connectivity. The federal program includes $3.3 billion in funding for FY23 from both the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act.  

The successful application for RCN grant funding announced today was the result of close coordination with the City of Boston, Harvard University, and Boston University, in addition to other local partners.  

“This is another major win for Massachusetts. The Allston Multimodal Project is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to improve transportation infrastructure in the Allston community and better connect residents across the state with housing and job opportunities,” said Governor Maura Healey. "We’re grateful for the partnership of the Biden-Harris administration, our Congressional delegation, the City of Boston and other partners to drive progress on this important project.” 

“Our administration continues to bring people together and drive progress on critical infrastructure projects that have long been stalled in our state. The Allston Multimodal Project is part of our commitment to making investments that are good for the economy and good for our residents, whether they want to travel on foot, on bike, on public transportation, or by automobile,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “This federal grant will help build a project that will have widespread benefits in the decades ahead, improving access to the Charles River, between Boston and points west, and for everyone taking trips in the Allston area.” 

“The Allston neighborhood will no longer be cut off from the Charles River and other nearby destinations by an elevated highway when the multimodal project is built,” said Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt.  “The Allston Multimodal Project will be transformational for people who live, work, and travel in this area of Boston and the federal grant puts us on the way to getting the necessary funds to advance the project’s design and construction.” 

“The City of Boston is grateful to our federal delegation and to MassDOT for their support in moving this transformational project forward,” said Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. “The Allston Multimodal Project will improve public transit, expand parkland, reconnect residents to beautiful open space along the Charles River, and create new opportunities for housing and jobs—and bring much-needed fixes for crumbling infrastructure. We will continue to work with the Allston community to refine a design that improves for our City for generations to come." 

The multimodal project will result in many benefits, including, reconnecting a neighborhood currently separated by an interstate highway and advancing environmental justice, increasing access to regional multimodal transportation, providing a unique opportunity for equitable economic and workforce development, and building on comprehensive community engagement for the future transportation network in this area.  

The Healey-Driscoll Administration has secured nearly $3 billion in federal funding grants since taking office and currently the administration has $2 billion in pending grant requests. The Allston Multimodal RCN application is among other federal funding awards for transportation projects: 

• a $108 million award towards West-East rail,  

• a $375 million award for the Sagamore Bridge project, 

• $249.4 million for the MBTA in discretionary grant funding, and,  

• A $116 million grant for the MBTA’s purchase of battery-electric buses.   

In addition to the RCN grant of $335.4 million announced today for the Allston Multimodal Project, other RCN grant awards have included:  

• $452,000 - Haverhill- Removing the Scars of Urban Renewal 

• $561,000- Lynn- Riverworks Reimagined  

• $1.2 million- Everett- Uniting Neighborhoods and Transit Opportunities 

• $2.4 million- Cambridge- Fitchburg Commuter Rail- Pedestrian crossing 

• $2.5 million- Boston- Chelsea Creek Waterfront 

The Healey-Driscoll Administration continues to wait for federal government review of other transportation grant applications, including an application for $1.06 billion in grant funding through the Bridge Investment Program (BIP) Large Bridge Project Program for replacement of the Sagamore Bridge. MassDOT is the lead applicant, applying jointly with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) as the owner of the bridge.  

To learn more about the Allston Multimodal Project, please visit: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/about-the-allston-multimodal-project 

In 2023, the Healey-Driscoll Administration established, “The Federal Funds & Infrastructure Office,” (FFIO) to lead an ambitious inter-agency strategy for the Commonwealth to successfully compete for the historic levels of federal funding available from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the CHIPS and Science Act, and more. FFIO is responsible for tracking federal opportunities, facilitating the submission of successful applications for federal funding, and advocating on behalf of Massachusetts projects that advance key priorities including infrastructure, jobs, economic competitiveness, affordable housing, clean energy, decarbonization, resilience, equity, and workforce development. 

FFIO chairs the Advisory Council on Federal Funds and Infrastructure which includes designees from each executive office and serves as the government-wide coordinating body for the Commonwealth's federal funds strategy. 

FFIO also leads the monthly Massachusetts Federal Funds Partnership meeting which provides information on available federal funding opportunities and advises local government on which federal grant programs can best help them meet their needs.  To learn more, please visit: https://www.mass.gov/orgs/federal-funds-infrastructure-office 

“This successful award for the Allston multimodal project and the five other Reconnecting Communities awards are the result of our whole-of-government strategy to maximize the federal funding available to Massachusetts for improving infrastructure, providing increased access to multimodal transportation, and furthering our climate goals, all while creating good paying jobs and equitable economic growth.” said Director of Federal Funds and Infrastructure Quentin Palfrey. “Thank you to President Biden, Secretary Buttigieg and our partners in the Massachusetts congressional delegation for making possible this exciting award. We look forward to continuing these strong partnerships to secure funding for communities across Massachusetts.” 

To learn more about MassDOT’s process for allocating federal and state funding, please visit the webpage for the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP).  The STIP is a list of projects prepared yearly by The Office of Transportation Planning. The list includes projects such as multi-use paths, bridges, roads, sidewalks and transit investments. The STIP is a combined effort between MassDOT and many state agencies that work together to design and build highways and transit projects:  https://www.mass.gov/info-details/state-transportation-improvement-program-stip.

“The $335 million we’ve secured for Allston will be transformational to the city and make the kind of changes to peoples’ lives that they can see and feel,” said Senator Elizabeth Warren. “Families in Boston, especially those who are disadvantaged, deserve this funding to connect their communities with public transit and new bike lanes, to open more public spaces for our kids to play outside, and to create thousands of good, new jobs.” 

“With this funding for the Allston Multimodal Project, we’re healing the scars of antiquated highway projects that ripped apart Black, brown, and low-income communities. We’re advancing an effort that centers environmental justice communities in Allston and Brighton, better connecting these neighborhoods with each other, with the rest of Greater Boston, and with our Commonwealth as a whole,” said Senator Ed Markey. “This monumental project will benefit environmental justice communities in Allston and Brighton, expand public transit access, enhance safety for pedestrians and cyclists and improve travel for people traveling between Boston and places west of the city. I was proud to advocate to Secretary Buttigieg personally on behalf of this project, and I am grateful for the shared advocacy with Senator Warren and our entire congressional delegation.” 

“Transit justice is a matter of racial justice, economic justice, and public safety, and this critical federal investment will bring us closer to realizing our collective vision for transportation that works for every user,” said Rep. Ayanna Pressley, founding Co-Chair of the Future of Transportation Caucus. “I am proud to have helped secure this federal funding, which will help address the dysfunction of the current lay-out and give us the opportunity to build equitable, accessible, and safe commuting options that Allston Brighton residents and folks across the Massachusetts 7th deserve. I am grateful to our community members and transit justice advocates for their years of organizing that has helped make a more sustainable and equitable future possible.” 

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