MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE PASSES BILL AUTHORIZING CHAPTER 90 FUNDING
Makes investments in roads, bridges, and public transportation.
BOSTON –The Massachusetts House of Representatives today passed a bill that includes $200 million for the state’s Chapter 90 program, which provides municipalities with a funding source for transportation-related improvements, including road and bridge repairs, as well as $175 million for specific programs. The bill also appropriates $25 million for the rural roads program established in last year’s Chapter 90 legislation, which provides funding to rural communities in addition to the standard Chapter 90 distribution.
“I was proud to join my colleagues in the House of Representatives to pass legislation that allocates $375 million in funding to repair, upkeep, and maintain our state’s municipal roads and bridges,” said State Representative Frank A. Moran (D – Lawrence). “This critical funding will provide financial relief to every municipality in Massachusetts, and I look forward to seeing construction projects get underway this Spring.”
This Cauthorczes $150 million in programs that will support various transportation-related projects. This includes $25 million for each of the following:
- Municipal Pavement Program, which focuses on the improvement of municipally owned state numbered routes.
- Municipal Small Bridge Program, which provides financial support to cities and towns for small bridge replacement, preservation, and rehabilitation projects.
- Complete Streets Funding Program, which provides technical assistance and construction funding to municipalities for streets that provide safe and accessible options for all travel modes such as walking, biking, transit, and vehicles.
- Municipal Bus Enhancement Program, which provides grant funding to towns to build out infrastructure related to mass transit by bus, such as bus shelters, curb reconfiguration, bus lanes, and signal prioritization.
- Mass Transit Access Grant Program, which provides grants to municipalities for design and construction for improvements to access commuter rail stations or other mass transit stations, such as parking lots, drop-off and pick-up zones, bike storage infrastructure, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
- Municipal/RTA EV Grant Program, which provides grants to Regional Transit Authorities and municipalities for the purchase of electric vehicles and related charging equipment.
The 17th Essex District received substantial Chapter 90 investments through this bill with Lawrence receiving $1,347,107 and Andover receiving $1,379,160 respectively.
Having passed the House of Representatives 155-0, the bill now goes to the Senate for their consideration.
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