Obama’s Budget Includes $100 Million for Green Line Extension Project

President Barack Obama’s budget, released Tuesday, recommends $100 million in federal funding for the Green Line Extension project.

The president’s recommended funding is a “significant milestone” for the project, according to a Wednesday release from the state Department of Transportation. The funding is in the president’s Federal Fiscal Year 2015 budget.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, Congressman Mike Capuano and Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone thanked Obama for his support of the project.

“This historic commitment of federal New Starts Program funds, when matched with state contributions, will fulfill a promise made during construction of the Central Artery Project and complete the long-awaited extension of rail service to Somerville and Medford,” Patrick said in a statement.

“With the first phase of construction already underway,” he continued, “we are already clearly seeing the economic opportunity and jobs created through this project. This wise federal and state investment will unlock the potential economic growth along the new Green Line corridor and leave a legacy of greater mobility for residents and smart environmental benefits in one of the Commonwealth’s most densely-populated areas.”

The project will extend the MBTA’s Green Line from East Cambridge’s Lechmere Station to Somerville’s Union Square and College Avenue in Medford.

Earlier this year, the Patrick Administration requested that the federal government fund 50 percent of the $1.428 billion project, which is an initiative of the state Department of Transportation and MBTA.

The state Department of Transportation has already begun work on the project, with bridge and roadway upgrades underway in Somerville and Medford. Major utility relocation and site preparation work is scheduled to begin later this year with full construction commencing in the spring of 2015.