Cambridge Council Unanimously Backs Community Engagement on $51 Million Overpass Project

CAMBRIDGE -- June 10, 2024, Cambridge City Council unanimously approved a resolution urging state engagement on a $51 million BU Rotary Reed Overpass reconstruction, while a proposal to seed a local news fund at $100,000 a year stalled amid legal and independence concerns. The 9-0 vote on Policy Order 2 calls on MassDOT and, by amendment, DCR Commissioner Brian Orrigo to engage Cambridge Port residents early in the overpass planning process, which advocates warned could lock in a design for decades if community input is not sought now. A separate proposal, Policy Order 78, drew more than a dozen public supporters including Cambridge Community Foundation President Gita Pradhan, who offered the foundation as an independent fund administrator, but Mayor E. Denise Simmons and Councillors Paul Toner, Jivan Wilson, and Sumbul Siddiqui all signaled opposition to the measure as written, citing the state's anti-aid amendment, questions about precedent for other nonprofits, and the tension between public funding and editorial independence. Lead sponsor Councillor Burhan Azeem held the order rather than let it fail outright. The council also voted 9-0 to request an updated Municipal Facilities Improvement Plan, with staff expected to deliver revised cost estimates before the fiscal year 2026 capital budget cycle begins.