T国家运输官员说，在竞争异象之间说，在马萨诸塞州收费公路的一大笔钱进行了13亿美元的重新调整，现在将延迟一年甚至更长的时间。

The officials have postponed until next summer a key decision on how to proceed with the reconstruction of the turnpike in the city’s Allston neighborhood, a key chokepoint into the city for both commuter and rail traffic.

That, in turn, will have a major impact on the start of construction, Stephanie Pollack, the state’s transportation chief, told board members of the Massachusetts Dept. of Transportation.

State officials are faced with the choice between two main alternatives, replacing a stretch of highway on an aging, mid-1960s viaduct in need of repair with a new span of roadway at grade along the Charles River, or simply replacing the viaduct with a new one.

Those officials indicated they see strong support among “stakeholders” and other members of the public for removing the viaduct and proceeding and replacing it with at-grade highway lanes along the river.

Supporters of the at-grade option contend it would help reconnect the city with the waterfront along the Charles, with the viaduct and the elevated stretch of Turnpike having acted for decades as a giant barrier.

But further analysis is needed, as well as a clearer plan for financing the project. The delay would also align the choice state transportation officials are calling the “preferred alternative” with the filing of key piece of required state environmental paperwork, slated for mid-2021.

Pollack说：“它可能会延迟一年。”

反过来，这种延迟将推动到十年中期的建筑推出，直到2024年末至2025年初。

设计、采购过程不会踢off until mid-2023, while the design-build process wouldn’t move forward until mid-2024.

However, state transportation officials have not ruled out the option of simply repairing the current viaduct, which Pollack calls “Plan B.”

这是一个倡导现代的高速公路领域的倡导者，关注十年或更长时间更长的延迟的潜力。

Pollack在讨论维修选项时指出，它可以延长高架桥的寿命，再延长10 - 15年。至少，如果批准和融资其他两种主要选择，包括重建高速公路AT级和完全摆脱高架桥，这将使国家运输官员获得后卫。

级计划显然是最受欢迎的选择ion, with the vast majority of the more than 500 comments state transportation officials received on the issue during a public review period backing the at-grade plan.

The support was strong enough to stop state transportation officials from instead forging ahead with plans to build a new viaduct, which Pollack acknowledges is unpopular.

但是，重建坡度的高速公路还将涉及填补大约一英亩的查尔斯河，而查尔斯河又将涉及一个密集且可能更耗时的联邦和州审查程序。

Pollack说：“我们只需要制定一个计划B，这将使我们能够修复高架桥，这将使我们能够完成整个过程。”“我认为这是负责任的事情。这样的近期解决方案将为建立公众共识提供更多时间。

评论家引用延迟成本

But Rick Dimino, president of a business-backed nonprofit, A Better City, and a long-time champion of eliminating the viaduct and rebuilding the turnpike in Allston at-grade, was critical of what he contends is an unnecessary and potentially costly delay.

迪米诺说，用另一个高架桥代替了一个半个世纪的高架桥，这将使波士顿和其他城市的数十年努力消除绿巨人的高速公路障碍，并重新连接社区的城市结构。

Dimino contends state transportation officials should be able to both pick the at-grade option as the preferred alternative and move ahead with financing and environmental permitting plans at the same time.

By delaying, state officials run the risk of not being prepared to take advantage of a likely infrastructure proposal from the new Biden Administration after it takes the reins in January.

“We need proactive action to position this project for a Biden infrastructure bill,” Dimino said. “It is just smart government. You want to put Massachusetts to be first in line with some really good ways to use that money.”