Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
In an effort to support communities to complete maintenance and construction projects this construction season, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation announced yesterday that it will begin to accept, review and approve project requests from municipalities in advance of the legislation’s final passage.
This year’s transportation bond bill is expected to be approved by the Senate on Thursday. The bond bill proposes an historic 50% increase to base Chapter 90 funding, elevating annual program dollars to $300 million for fiscal 2026. Of this funding, $200 million would be distributed based on the Chapter 90 formula and $100 million based on road miles.
In addition to the anticipated transportation bond bill authorization, the tranche of funding available to communities includes an additional $80 million supplemental appropriation that was recently approved through a fiscal 2025 surplus surtax supplement budget bill. The law required half the appropriation to be distributed based on the Chapter 90 formula and half based on road miles.
The MassDOT Chapter 90 apportionments webpage has been updated to include community distributions for the entire $380 million.
Importantly, MassDOT has indicated that reimbursements for approved projects using fiscal 2026 funding will not be processed until both the transportation bond bill and forthcoming bond terms bill have been approved by the legislature and signed by the Governor.
Once passed in the Senate, as expected, the transportation bond bill will be sent to Governor Healey for her signature. The bill also proposes authorizations for initiatives overseen by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, including $200 million for a culvert and small bridge program, $500 million for MassDOT bridge and pavement asset management, and $185 million for congestion and safety initiatives.