House passes Chapter 90 bill; vote in Senate not yet scheduled

The House yesterday passed a one-year, $200 million bond bill to fund the Chapter 90 local road and bridge program. The Senate, however, has not yet scheduled a vote on the bill, meaning that the bond authorization will likely be delayed until next week.
 
The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets.
 
The MMA has been urging quick action on a Chapter 90 bond authorization, so that cities and towns are able have a productive construction season and avoid costly delays.
 
At a meeting with mayors from across the state on March 23 in Braintree, Gov. Charlie Baker said his administration has been keeping close tabs on the Chapter 90 bill. The mayors reminded the governor of the urgency of the bill, with the construction season just around the corner.
 
In a March 21 letter to the House Committee on Ways and Means, the MMA urged legislators to increase the $200 million bill reported out by the Transportation Committee to $300 million, and to pass a multiyear bill.
 
The governor’s $200 million Chapter 90 proposal was part of a larger transportation bill that he filed on Feb. 12, but the Legislature pulled out the Chapter 90 portion as a separate bill. The $200 million recommendation falls short of the $300 million in spending authorized last year.
 
The MMA has consistently asked the governor and Legislature to provide at least $300 million for the Chapter 90 program.
 
“An analysis by the MMA in 2014 documented that cities and towns across the state need to spend at least $639 million every year to maintain and bring 30,000 miles of local roads into a state of good repair,” the MMA testified. “Currently, municipalities spend far less because of inadequate resources and because, for most cities and towns, Chapter 90 is the main or sole source of funds for road construction and repair.”
 
The MMA argues that investing more in Chapter 90 would ultimately save taxpayers money. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, once a local road is in a state of good repair, every dollar invested to keep it properly maintained saves $6 to $10 in repair costs that would become necessary to rebuild the road if it failed due to lack of maintenance.
 
The governor’s transportation bill included an authorization of $50 million over five years for a municipal small bridges program. The new program would help municipalities fix or replace bridges with spans of no more than 20 feet. The bill would provide funding for design, construction, preservation, reconstruction and repair of or improvements to non-federally aided bridges. There are approximately 1,300 bridges in Massachusetts with span lengths between 10 and 20 feet that cities and towns are responsible for maintaining and replacing.
 
The municipal bridge program portion of the bill filed by Gov. Baker, is not included in the House’s Chapter 90 bill, but had a public hearing before the House Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets Committee on March 31. The MMA expressed strong support for the program.