State allocates $20M for Kelley Square, Union Station projects

The Massachusetts Capital Investment Plan released on Tuesday includes $20 million for two key transportation infrastructure projects in Worcester.

Chief among those is the Kelley Square Improvement Project announced by the city last August along with an overall $240-million redevelopment of the Canal District, including a $101-million ballpark for the Pawtucket Red Sox as the top minor league baseball team of the Boston Red Sox moves to Worcester in 2021. 

For that project, the state’s 2020-2024 Capital Investment Plan calls for $16 million in state money for the project. 

The project is designed to improve safety and efficiency by introducing a peanut-shaped rotary and a series of road reconfigurations. The project is scheduled to go out to bid for construction next month. 

Union Station, also undergoing a transformation as activity picks up in Worcester, is slated for $4.4 million in state money for improvements by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 

The projects are included in the state Department of Transportation and MBTA’s five-year, $18.3-billion Capital Investment Plan, which represents an increase of $1 billion over the last five-year plan. A large chunk of that money — about $6.2 billion — will go to several different MBTA improvement projects, mostly in the Greater Boston area.