Worcester Business Journal

38 2019 Economic Forecast • Worcester Business Journal • www.wbjournal.com P otential additional capacity at Union Station Worcester's Union Station could be in line for a second train platform to help the sta- tion expand capacity for commuter rail trains to and from Boston. The MBTA is looking to add a sec- ond platform at Union Station to enable more trains to move in and out of the station more quickly. Having only one platform today for boarding limits the station to just one train at a time. In October, an MBTA board approved a design contract for a second train platform at the station, a first step toward an expansion of the station's capacity. The coming year may not be the year when the project is finalized, but with the T's fiscal and management control board approving the project unani- mously, it looks certain to move ahead with at least planning and design. Infrastructure to spur economic development A range of projects across Central Massachusetts are being undertaken with a goal in mind of helping econom- ic development. The Gov. Charlie Baker Administration funded a number of infrastructure projects this year through its MassWorks and MassDevelopment programs. In Ashland, a $3-million MassWorks grant will pay for improvements to Main Street and Front Street, recon- structing 3,000 feet of roadway as part of Ashland's downtown revitalization effort. In Sutton, a $2.25-million grant for the installation of 13,200 feet of nat- ural gas lines will support the build-out of South Sutton Commerce Park, including the construction of a new facility for manufacturer Primetals. In Littleton, a $1.5-million grant for a wastewater treatment project will serve around 230 homes and make way for new development at the town center. In Oxford, a $2.5-million grant will pay for improvements to Route 12, includ- ing traffic signals and the reconstruc- tion of intersections to three lanes. Those upgrades will enable the planned expansion of Oxford laser manufacturer IPG Photonics. Finally, a MassDevelopment grant of $575,000 will pay for 1,400 feet of a new sewer main on Westboro Road in Grafton, which will serve a 48-unit, sin- gle-family subdivision and expand sep- tic capacity for additional commercial and residential development along Route 30, including the 33-acre MassDevelopment site at the former Grafton State Hospital campus. Kelley Square work begins If 2018 was the year we found out Kelley Square isn't likely to remain the messy but familiar interchange we've gotten used to, 2019 is expected to be the year the change finally begins tak- ing place. A design is expected to be complete by May and construction is slated to start by October, with the undetermined tab picked up by the state in order to redo what has become an infamous part of the Worcester's street grid. Kelley Square took on added importance once the city and the Pawtucket Red Sox announced in August the team plans to come to Worcester for the 2021 season. As 2018 comes to a close, the state is still accepting public input on what the new Kelley Square will look like, but a few potentials to keep in mind are a scenario with two traffic lights, another as a traditional roundabout, or another that would feature a sort of elongated rotary that would keep traffic moving in a way that planners hope will cut down on the square's high accident count. Transportation planning will upgrade Union Station, Kelley Square and a host of outlying communities >> Kelley Square remake on the way We don't know how much it will cost or what it will look like, but a belated Kelley Square remake is in the works. Worcester can thank a planned minor league ballpark for spurring the state to commit to overhauling the chaotic and infamous intersection. State officials held a series of public input sessions this fall, and they gave us a clue of what officials are considering. One option calls for two traffic signals, and another a roundabout where Vernon, Madison, Green and Harding streets meet. Another works as a two- part roundabout — nicknamed a pea- nut — with traffic on Vernon Street passing an elongated median between Water and Millbury streets and Harding, Madison and Green streets. Kelley Square is dangerous, with 195 accidents registered there between 2013 and 2016, according to the state Department of Transportation. Including the adjacent I-290 on- and off-ramps and Madison Street a block west to its intersection with Washington Street, the accident count surpasses 400. >> New Worcester Airport routes In 2017, Worcester Regional Airport undertook a $32-million project to improve its landing capabilities, making it easier and safer for planes to land. It's a potentially huge boon for the airport, which has been plagued since its start by relatively poor reliability due to its hilltop location. The airport saw a series of commercial carriers leave in past years, but whether because of the new landing system or other factors, more flights are now landing in and taking off from Worcester. In May, JetBlue began flying once a day to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. That marked the carrier's, and the airport's, third full- time route, joining Fort Lauderdale and Orlando. (Rectrix Aviation offers sea- sonal flights to Cape Cod.) In October, American Airlines began once-daily flights to and from Philadelphia, and shortly later added a second flight each day. Another carrier will come in 2019, with Delta Air Lines flights connecting to Detroit. In the meantime, smaller improve- ments will be made at the airport. In June, the Federal Aviation Administration granted $1 million to the airport to help expand the airport's services. The grant will be used to reha- bilitate about an acre and a half of pave- ment at the airport's tarmac, the area where planes are boarded. Later in the summer, the airport received a $3.2-million federal grant to pay for improvements to the shorter of its two runways. That funding will allow for a rehabilitation to Runway 15-33, a 5,000-foot-long runway closest to the airport terminal secondary to the airport's longer Runway 11-29. It received $463,000 to install electrical equipment for aircrafts at two gates, allowing planes power and air condi- tioning while parked at the terminal. >> Bikeshare programs come, go A mix of emissions-free transporta- tion option and trendy urban amenity, bikeshare programs have popped up in recent years in the largest cities, in smaller cities like Worcester and even less likely communities like Framingham and Marlborough. In Worcester, however, a bikeshare program was short-lived. Ofo, a Chinese company, started operations in the city with 400 of its yellow bikes to be left anywhere without the docking system most big-city programs rely on. But the company pulled out of Worcester over the summer as part of a much broader shrinking of operations. While Worcester looks to find a new bikeshare program, Framingham and Marlborough continue operations with Cambridge-based Zagster. Marlborough started operations late in 2017 and now has bikes at six stations across the city. Top transportation stories of 2018 Improvements coming BY GRANT WELKER Worcester Business Journal News Editor Union Station Kelley Square (far left) will get busier once the WooSox stadium is built. JetBlue operates the most flights out of Worcester Regional Airport. W W T R A N S P O R TAT I O N

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