ATTLEBORO — The parking lot at the South Attleboro MBTA Commuter Rail Station just off Route 1A is full of heavy equipment and dumpsters and it’s surrounded by a big fence.
That would seem to indicate demolition is about to begin again on the station which was closed in February 2021 because of an unsafe pedestrian bridge.
Demolition was started in April, but was stopped because of safety issues.
When state officials visited the site in July they said demolition was scheduled to start up again in about eight weeks.
But Joe Pesaturo, spokesman for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, said demolition is scheduled to be complete by the end of October.
He said the projected cost for the new station is $62 million, but that number could change because it was made more than a year ago.
“After a funding source for the new station has been identified, the MBTA will establish a construction schedule,” Pesaturo said Monday in an email to The Sun Chronicle.
He did not say how long it would take to find a “funding source.”
So it’s uncertain how long the station, after being demolished, will sit vacant and idle.
Former state Secretary of Transportation Gina Fiandaca visited the station on July 2 to take a closer look at the decaying site.
“It’s in a significant state of disrepair,” Fiandaca told a reporter at that time. “I wanted to see it first hand. It’s obviously something the city is concerned about.”
Fiandaca said the new station is fully designed, complete with three elevators.
State Rep. Jim Hawkins, D-Attleboro, invited her to view the site.
Hawkins has been pushing the state on the project for many months.
Months after the South Attleboro station was closed, David Jones — a Boston University professor — fell to his death while using a rusted and rotted pedestrian overpass similar to the one in South Attleboro at the JFK/UMASS MBTA station in Dorchester.
Improvements are expected to include:
- a new pedestrian bridge connecting the west parking lot to the rail platforms
- enhanced safety features, including upgraded lighting, fencing, security cameras, communication systems, and fire protection
- the Collins Street ramp and sidewalk will be reconstructed
- improvements to the parking lot, stairways, and walkways, including new pavement and relocated accessible parking spots
- improved signage and paths of travel for riders
- consolidated vehicle and bus drop-off areas
- new bicycle shelters
- roadway upgrades adjacent to the station.
The lot in South Attleboro has about 575 spaces and many residents from North Attleboro also use the station.
The MBTA lot in downtown Attleboro can accommodate approximately 790 vehicles.
