Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark (MA-5) visited the site of the future Wonderland Multimodal Connector July 14 to tour the facility and discuss the economic and social benefits of the project. The planning and design of the station will be paid for by a community project funding request made by Assistant Speaker Clark for $4 million that was recently included in the FY22 budget. Clark was joined at the tour by Revere Mayor Brian Arrigo, State Senators Joe Boncore and Brendan Crighton, State Reps. Jessica Giannino and Jeff Turco, Revere City Councilors, and local supporters.
“From the transit benefits of modernizing the Commonwealth’s commuter rail network, to the environmental justice impacts of reducing traffic and congestion on our roadways, to the economic benefits of unlocking economic growth, it’s essential that we build the Wonderland Commuter Rail and Multimodal Connector in Revere,” said Assistant Speaker Clark. “I am proud to have secured $4 million in community project funding in the House Appropriations bill to plan and design the new commuter rail and multimodal center at Wonderland, and am grateful to everyone who has spent years advocating for this project.”
The funding will be used for planning and design for a new commuter rail platform and multimodal transportation connector in the City of Revere, linking the Newburyport/Rockport commuter rail line to the MBTA Blue Line. This project will benefit not only the City of Revere but the entire region by alleviating regional congestion for commuters into the City of Boston and local congestion along Route 1A. The project will also increase connectivity for the low-income communities of Revere, East Boston, Chelsea, and Winthrop to major transit hubs.
Mayor Brian Arrigo thanked Congresswoman Clark for securing the Federal funding for the Wonderland commuter rail project, stating, “With this Federal assistance, we are one step closer to yet another transformation of our landscape, and one that will nourish our communities, our City, and most importantly the regional as a whole. And we have one person to thank for that – and that is Assistant Speaker Clark and I can’t thank you enough for the partnership and the friendship that we’ve developed over the years.”
State Sen. Joseph Boncore, chair of the Senate’s Transportation Committee, said, “When this opportunity for funding became available, Congresswoman Clark immediately contacted and coordinated with local leaders to secure infrastructure funding that this city really needed. She reached out. She listened. And her staff collaborated. But at the end of the day, Assistant Speaker Clark delivered for this community.”
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Original story can be found HERE.