LYNN — Lynn has received a $561,000 grant to “reimagine” the River Works commuter rail station by moving it north of its current location and making it publicly accessible, it was announced Wednesday.
A part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), the grant comes from the Neighborhood Access Equity (NAE) and the Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods (RCN) programs; both under the BIL and the Department of Transportation (DOT).
“Establishing a reliable public transit connection is key to unlocking the waterfront’s extraordinary opportunity for positive growth that can benefit the entire city,” said Lynn Mayor Jared Nicholson.
The “River Works Reimagined” planning project summary states the intention is to “reconnect West Lynn by relocating the River Works Station north of its current location and making it publicly accessible.”
By moving the station, the city plans to reconnect certain neighborhoods with jobs, open space, and a bus priority corridor on the Lynnway. It will also allow rail connections to Boston and beyond.
The relocation of the station will also allow for a safer American with Disabilities Act-compliant crossing of the railroad, improved flood resiliency, and the facilitation of waterfront access and transit-oriented development.
An aide to U:S. Rep. Seth Moulton of the state’s 6th District said that the area surrounding the station is in need of reliable public transportation, as 50% of households don’t own a vehicle, according to the DOT. In the entirety of Lynn, 19% of households do not have access to a vehicle.
Moulton’s aide said the grant is what’ was ‘s needed to finally put a legitimate, concrete plan into place, finally getting the ball rolling.
“It means a high-quality station with high-level platforms that are easier to board, and which are accessible. It means having Lynn ready for when electrification comes. When there’s 15-minute trains that are electric, this station enables even better service for this area, because suddenly it’s a 15-minute train ride, and you don’t even have to look at a schedule, you just have to show up at the station,” Moulton’s aide said.
Moulton said that the grant is a “major step forward” in providing Lynn with the “high-quality” public transportation it deserves.
“Lynn is the same distance from downtown Boston as Brooklyn is from Manhattan. Brooklyn is one of the hottest places to live in all of America. The difference? Brooklyn has about one train a minute to Manhattan; Lynn has one train every 30 minutes to downtown,” Moulton said.
The timeline of the planning project is not yet known.
