Massachusetts House Passes Bill Authorizing Chapter 90 Funding

The Massachusetts House of Representatives 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.

“Providing funding for critical infrastructure projects through investments in the Commonwealth’s public transportation, roads, and bridges is one of the most important responsibilities that we have as members of the Legislature,” said House Speaker Ronald J. Mariano (D-Quincy). “I’m proud of the support for regional infrastructure that this legislation provides, and of the funding that it allocates for the purchasing of electric vehicles by transit authorities. I want to thank Chairman Straus and my colleagues in the House, for prioritizing this vital legislation.”

“Through this bill, the House provides cities and towns funding to maintain bridges and roads while advancing transportation accessibility and electric vehicle acquisition,” said Representative Adrian Madaro (D-East Boston). “I look forward to seeing the City of Boston use these dollars to address our transportation network.”

“The Legislature continues to be responsive to the transportation needs of our towns and cities,” said Representative Bill Straus (D-Mattapoisett), House Chair of the Joint Committee on Transportation. “This legislation demonstrates a commitment to funding for local transportation projects with again, our new program especially for funding to rural towns. I am pleased to support this important piece of legislation which provides more tools for towns to tackle their project backlog in time for the new fiscal year starting in July.”

This legislation authorizes $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

Having passed the House of Representatives 155-0, the bill now goes to the Senate for their consideration.