Governor Maura Healey spoke Monday on the sweeping track issues in the Green Line Extension project, again calling out “poor judgement” of officials overseeing the project and insisting the agency is now staffed with officials who take their “responsibility seriously.”
“What’s important is that it was not disclosed, and it was not addressed,” Healey said, when asked for updates how the issues were not disclosed. … “Under the prior administration senior management at the T, for whatever poor judgment, made the decision not to disclose identified failures and then made the poor decision not to address those failures prior to the opening of the Green Line extension.”
MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng announced last week that large sections of the GLX tracks were built too narrow — and officials within the MBTA knew about the problems throughout the process.
Narrow tracks throughout half of the Union Square branch and 80% of the Medford-Tufts branch of the Green Line will require repairs but are currently safe for riders, Eng said previously. The GM noted repairs will be paid for by the contractors and not taxpayer-funded.
The project was completed and opened under the Baker administration before Healey took office and Eng was appointed.
In remarks Monday, Healey again praised Eng for quickly bringing the issues to her administration’s attention as he uncovered them.
“We’ve been transparent with the public about not only the disclosures and the failure to disclose, but also the fixes,” Healey said. “And I’m confident that General Manager Eng, as he has at every turn so far in his tenure, will make sure those issues are addressed and remedied.”
Repair work is already “underway,” she added.
Asked if her administration anticipates finding any other issues previously covered up, Healey said it is “hard to speak to what you know you don’t know about.”
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The governor noted though, that the administration has already taken steps like creating a new Chief Safety Officer position and increased staffing by around 1,000 employees — tackling neglected repairs, general maintenance and basic operations.
“I will say this, that every effort has been made to make sure that with this administration we have a team in place that understands its responsibility and takes that responsibility seriously,” Healey said.
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