Rep. Bill Straus (D-Mattapoisett), House co-chair of the Joint Committee on Transportation, is pleased to announce that MassDOT will distribute $100 million in additional funding generated by the Fair Share Amendment to the Commonwealth’s cities and towns for road and bridge improvements. This latest round of funding is in addition to the annual Chapter 90 appropriation for municipalities authorized by the Legislature earlier in 2023.
Local towns may expect to receive the following in additional funds for the current fiscal year: Acushnet $177,362; Fairhaven $263,332; Marion $89,779; Mattapoisett $128,813; New Bedford $957,708; Rochester $190,108. The $100 million distribution uses a two-prong formula, with the first $50 million awarded using the traditional Chapter 90 formula, and the remaining $50 million awarded based on each municipality’s share of road mileage. By using the pure road mileage calculation, instead of the usual chapter 90 formula, the local towns are actually seeing an increase in funding from what they otherwise would have received.
Towns will not need to take additional action as the apportionment will be automatically incorporated into their existing Chapter 90 contracts.
“This is an important first step, and I welcome these additional funds for road and bridge improvements,” said Rep. Straus. “Our towns have long advocated for additional state support to meet the increasing challenges they face maintaining their aging infrastructure, and the Legislature continues to work on providing even more funding for our communities, particularly the rural ones.”