New Bedford Mayor Updated on South Coast Rail

Though it seems like it's screeched to a halt, Mayor Jon Mitchell says the forces on Beacon Hill are hard at work pushing the South Coast Rail project forward.

Mitchell and other Southcoast elected officials met with Governor Deval Patrick and Transportation Secretary Richard Davey this week, hearing the latest developments on the initiative.

Mitchell tells WBSM News Governor Patrick outlined two major factors that are impeding progress.

Funding may be largely solved when the state legislature takes up a transportation bond bill in January, where Patrick says South Coast Rail will be a main priority.

The permitting process could be decided by an environmental assessment by the Army Corps of Engineers, a report that's due out in March of next year.