Wynn proposes somebody could build a bridge to his casino
Wynn Resorts, which intends to build a $1.7 billion resort casino in Everett, plans to pay for the state to revisit an idea it took up just a few years ago: building a pedestrian path across the Mystic River.
Wynn said in a filing for a state environmental certificate that it would agree to pay $250,000 to fund a feasibility study for a footbridge outfitted for cyclists and pedestrians. It would connect Somerville’s Assembly Square to Everett, near the casino site.
Assembly Square is located on the Orange Line, while the proposed Wynn project is not immediately accessible by Orange Line service, so a footbridge could improve public transit access to the site. It could also help link biking and walking paths on either side of the river.
Wynn’s filing suggests the Department of Conservation and Recreation would conduct the study. DCR in 2009 commissioned a study looking into the very same topic—connecting Somerville and Everett with a footbridge across the Mystic.
According to the study, the costs would have been between $5.4 million to $7.7 million, depending on which of several construction options was chosen (ranging from building a new structure, to building over a dam, to building on to a rail bridge that already crosses the river). At the time, the study said, “none of the alternatives provides a practical, feasible, and cost-effective solution to provide a bicycle and pedestrian crossing of the Mystic River.’’
In the filing, Wynn did not directly address who should pay for the bridge. Comments from outside parties suggested Wynn should pay for it, but Wynn said only that it is committed to the $250,000 feasibility study. DCR Deputy Press Secretary Kevin O’Shea told Boston.com that Wynn has not yet been in touch about funding a study, but that the department ’’continuously solicits proposals for potential public-private partnerships.’’
A Wynn spokesman said more details about the footbridge plan will be announced in the coming weeks.
Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone, whose administration spearheaded the redevelopment of Assembly Square, including the Orange Line station that opened in 2014, has been outspoken against casinos. That’s especially true of the Wynn resort—Somerville is one of three cities (along with Boston and Revere) suing the state’s gaming commission to prevent the casino from being built.
Curtatone said he has long supported a footbridge connecting Assembly Square to Everett and connecting bike paths across the region. But the proposal does not alleviate his distaste for the casino across the river.
“When it comes to extending … bike/walk options for the region, these are things we should be doing anyway, and it should not take a bad economic model like expanded gambling to get us to catch up with the rest of the world,’’ Curtatone said in a statement.
Wynn is also planning to pay $7.4 million to help subsidize Orange Line operations over a 15-year period, according to the state filing.
Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria did not respond to a request for comment.
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