The Baker-Polito Administration outlined initial plans to make significant and additional investments into roads, bridges, public transportation and environmental infrastructure projects across the Commonwealth with funding from the recently passed federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).
Governor Charlie Baker, Lt. Governor Karyn Polito, Transportation Secretary and CEO Jamey Tesler and Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Kathleen Theoharides made the announcement today near the Rourke Bridge in Lowell, which the Administration committed to advancing and funding the replacement of with the additional resources made available within the BIL. With an anticipated cost of approximately $170 million, the Rourke Bridge will be funded as part of an anticipated $3 billion bridge program to be implemented over the next five years using a combination of BIL funding and the Commonwealth’s Next Generation Bridge Program. As part of today’s announcement, the Administration released a list of 146 bridge projects, representing 181 individual structures, to be funded as part of that program.
“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will deliver billions in funding to the Commonwealth, helping to build on the investments our Administration has made over the past 7 years to improve our roads and bridges, and make our public transportation system more reliable and resilient,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “We are grateful for the efforts of the congressional delegation to secure this funding for Massachusetts and look forward to working with them and our local partners to deliver critical projects across the Commonwealth.”
“Thank you to the members of the delegation for advocating for this important funding,” said Lt. Governor Karyn Polito. “The funding from the BIL will fund hundreds of bridge and road projects across the Commonwealth, delivering important upgrades to our communities.”
“Significant investments are going to be made in transportation infrastructure thanks to both reauthorized and increased federal funding within the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and these investments will be transformational,” said Transportation Secretary and CEO Jamey Tesler. “I want to thank members of the Congressional delegation for delivering this new funding and express appreciation to state legislators, municipal leaders, planning organizations, and stakeholders who will partner with us to advance the Baker-Polito Administration’s FY 2023 budget, advance the Transportation Bond Bill to be filed soon, and support MassDOT as we identify and scope projects which can be accelerated.”
“Since coming into office in 2015, the Baker-Polito Administration has taken significant steps in addressing the Commonwealth’s aging infrastructure, including enhancing its transportation network and modernizing municipal water and sewer systems,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Kathleen Theoharides. “Massachusetts’ portion of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will further our own efforts, and we thank our federal partners for working to deliver these significant funds that will have an immediate impact in every region of the state.”
Over five years, the BIL will deliver approximately $9.5 billion in total funding to the Commonwealth including $5.4 billion in highway formula funds, $2.2 billion in MBTA formula funds and $591 million in Regional Transit Authority (RTA) formula funds, as well as $1.4 billion in both formula and discretionary funds for environmental work.
The new law will also allow all 50 states to compete for a portion of an additional $110 billion through various discretionary transportation funding, creating multi-pronged opportunities to help finance and advance both locally-significant and major projects like the federally owned Cape Cod Bridges and the Allston I-90 Multimodal Project. MassDOT has begun preparations to work with its local partners and compete for every dollar possible as federal guidance for these programs becomes available.
Federal funding, both formula and discretionary, requires state matching funds and the increased amounts provided by the BIL will require additional state resources, which the Administration has committed to begin seeking with the filing of a new Transportation Bond Bill in the coming weeks. The Baker-Polito Administration’s Fiscal Year 2023 budget proposal also includes $3.4 million dollars to further bolster MassDOT’s internal resources and efforts to implement and ramp up both new and existing programs authorized within BIL and to accommodate execution of projects