| |
Daily DigestSchool Closing
Conte Middle School in North Adams will be closed Thursday, December 4, & Friday, December 5, as the investigation into a mercury spill continues. |
Light'em Up!
 (2).jpg) North Adams kicks off the holiday season with its annual treelighting on Thursday, Dec. 4, at 5:30 p.m.
Pittsfield lights its tree on Friday, Dec. 5, at 6 at Park Square. |
Like to Write?
 Passionate about local sports? Into the environment? Obsessive about local meetings?
Let your neighbors know what's going on in Berkshire County! iBerkshires accepts submissions about local events, news and opinion pieces. There are openings for freelance work, too, for qualified candidates. E-mail tdaniels@iberkshires.com to find out more. |
Got Flu?
Track its spread through Google! |
| Need to contact iBerkshires? Here's how. |
ObituariesWhat's Playing
A television-hero pup (John Travolta) thinks he's a real superdog in the Disney film "Bolt." |
Sales FliersColumnists | Independent Investor
|
Other StuffRelated Stories |
| |
Patrick Files Transportation Bond Bill - November 29, 2007
BOSTON - Gov. Deval Patrick today filed a three-year, $2.9 billion transportation bond bill, pledging to make significant improvements to the Commonwealth’s long-neglected network of roads, bridges, and mass transit. The state's investment in transportation projects is expected to leverage additional federal funds for a total investment of $4.8 billion and will encourage economic development, including the creation of an estimated 10,000 construction jobs across the Commonwealth.
The multi-year legislation will allow the Patrick administration to begin making much-needed transportation infrastructure improvements while it works to implement major transportation reform. The state has chronically underinvested in transportation capital projects. A report released in March 2007 by the Massachusetts Transportation Finance Commission (TFC) noted that the cost to maintain our current surface transportation system and to make certain other required improvements exceeds our anticipated available resources by $15 billion to $19 billion over the next 20 years.
"The Commonwealth needs a transportation system that improves our quality of life and serves as a catalyst for economic growth," Patrick said. "Inadequate investment in our roads, bridges and public transit system over time has compromised those goals. This legislation will allow us to address many of our most pressing transportation needs while we work towards long-term transportation reform."
The legislation assists cities and towns with their infrastructure needs, authorizing $500 million to fund Chapter 90 grants for improvements to local roads and bridges and $50 million for public works grants (PWED) to cities and towns to support economic development. The bill also includes $15 million for transportation-related grants to communities with small populations, known as "STRAP" grants. In addition, the STRAP program will now be available to communities with populations of 7,000 or less, up from the currently eligibility requirement of 3,500 or less, extending the grant opportunity to an additional 53 municipalities.
Consistent with the administration's goal of improving economic development opportunities in every region of the Commonwealth, the legislation includes $25 million for investments in regional transit authorities, mobility assistance programs, intermodal transportation improvements and water transportation and $40 million for improvements at regional airports.
The TFC report also concluded that more than a quarter of state-owned roads have only a "poor" or "fair" pavement condition. Additionally, the Federal Highway Administration's 2005 highway statistics show that Massachusetts ranks 35th in the nation in percentage of interstate roads in "good" or "excellent" condition, while the National Bridge Inventory shows that our percentage of structurally deficient and functionally obsolete bridges is twice the national average and the third highest in the nation.
To begin addressing these problems, the bill includes a $1.3 billion authorization to fund improvements to roads and bridges under the statewide road and bridge program, which will allow the Commonwealth to better maintain its existing infrastructure and reduce the funding gap identified by the TFC. The authorization is expected to leverage federal funding that will result in $3.2 billion of total investments in our roads and bridges.
"The Massachusetts transportation system suffers from a history of deferred maintenance which will require nearly $20 billion in capital investments. This bond bill will allow us to begin to address that need," said Transportation and Public Works Secretary Bernard Cohen. "In addition to this bill, we are developing a transportation reform package that will provide better coordination among transportation agencies and ensure our resources are utilized as efficiently and effectively as possible."
While the administration's bond bill begins the process of improving funding for transportation throughout Massachusetts, real structural reform is needed to fully address the challenges the Commonwealth faces. The Governor has engaged independent consultants and has been working with legislators, existing transportation agencies and other stakeholders to develop a proposal for the broad reform needed to adequately address the needs of our transportation system. Meanwhile, the Governor is committed to identifying cost savings and efficiencies in transportation and eliminating the duplication now prevalent in the system. |
|
Enter your email address below to receive our FREE iBerkshires.com Newsletter
|
