Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation Stephanie Pollack said in a letter to environmental officials that gambling operator Wynn Resorts has addressed all traffic issues that may arise from the construction of its $1.7-billion casino in Everett in an adequate manner.
Ms. Pollack wrote in her letter that the Greater Boston area has been subjected to quite comprehensive research over the past ten years or so and serious traffic issues had been posed well before luxury hotel and casino was proposed. According to the Transportation Secretary such long-term issues could be best solved “through a regional working group.”
The official also argued that Wynn Resorts’ plan includes solutions for certain short-term problems and that the gambling operator should be given the green light to proceed with the construction of its property without being required to deal with long-term ones existing long before it was awarded the casino license for the Grater Boston area.
Ms. Pollack’s letter came shortly after Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey sent her own letter to Matthew Beaton, state Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs, asking the official to hold off his decision on whether Wynn Resorts should be given a key environmental permit. Mr. Beaton is expected to announce his decision no later than Friday, August 28.
The gambling operator cannot begin construction on its multi-million-dollar resort before it is issued the so-called Environmental Policy Act certificate. However, the state Attorney General contended that Wynn Resorts should first provide an extensive plan for the “long-term solution” of traffic issues at Sullivan Square, which is a key transit hub that gives access to Boston, Somerville, and Everett. It will also be a main route to the new casino.
Wynn Resorts had previously promised to invest more than $10 million for fixing short-term traffic issues at Sullivan Square as well as $25 million over a 10-year period for the long-term mitigation of those problems. However, Boston officials had formerly introduced a $100-million plan for the long-term fix of traffic in the area and contended that Wynn Resorts’ own plan would conflict with theirs.
The cities of Boston, Somerville, and Revere also filed letters on Friday saying that the gambling operator should not be issued the necessary permit as this would have quite negative effects on an area that already has serious traffic issues to deal with.
According to Joseph Curtatone, Mayor of Somerville, Wynn Resorts has not presented an adequate long-term plan. Furthermore, the construction of the resort, which is said to be one of the state’s most expensive private developments ever, would not be phased and this would further complicate the current traffic situation. That is, the casino and its impacts “will hit quick […] and hard.”
All three cities are also suing the Massachusetts Gaming Commission in separate lawsuits over the regulator’s decision to award Wynn Resorts one of three casino licenses for the launch of fully-fledged casinos in the state.
