Federal bucks to spring forth
Gov says infrastructure projects to begin after this winter
Massachusetts is in line to receive between $7 and $10 billion of the $1.3 trillion federal infrastructure spending passed this week and Gov. Charlie Baker expects Bay Staters to see its first impacts this spring.
“Our goal will be to have it on the street — to have some of it out on the street — by the spring construction season,” Baker said of the timing.
Though the administration would not share which projects were on deck for the first funds, Baker said Tuesday at a press conference that, “we’ll be able to make some very important and critical infrastructure investments around the Commonwealth over the next five or six years” from the billions coming the Bay State’s way.
“This is a necessary piece of federal legislation, states will be able to do a lot of good things with this, many of which are overdue,” Baker said of the bill, which President Biden signed into law on Monday.
According to a White House fact sheet, Massachusetts’ investments will be broken down this way:
$4.2 billion for highway improvements
$1.1 billion for bridge replacements
$2.5 billion for public transportation improvements
$1.1 billion for safe drinking water
$63 million to build out the state’s electric vehicle charging network
$100 million or more for broadband, including building out access for 137,000 residents who lack it
$244 million for airport improvements
$5.8 million to protect against wildfires
$15.7 million to protect against cyberattacks
Baker clarified that his office is still figuring out exactly how much will be available for the Commonwealth because about 40% of the funds must be bid on, he said. He estimated that Massachusetts is in line to receive $7 billion to $8 billion of the total, which falls under a $9 billion estimate from U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan’s office.
Those funds, which are derived from formulas and usually require a state
match, will cover “everything from broadband to water to to roads, to rail, to bridges to transit,” Baker said.
The formula funds are required to be spent within designated categories. Although Massachusetts lawmakers don’t have to bid on these competitive funds, “obviously, we’re going to be pretty aggressive about it,” he said.
The Herald previously reported that 472 of the state’s 5,229 bridges were deemed “structurally deficient” this year, according to Federal Highway Administration data. Massachusetts is fourth worst in the nation when it comes to maintaining its bridges. There are 4,843 bridges in need of repairs with a collective price tag of $15.4 billion, according to the report.