Representative Steven S. Howitt supports state funding for municipal road and bridge repairs

Road and bridge funding part of $1.4B transportation infrastructure bill

Boston – State Representative Steven S. Howitt (R-Seekonk) recently supported a $1.4 billion transportation infrastructure bond bill that will provide $300 million in funding to cities and towns under the Chapter 90 program, along with additional funding authorizations for other transportation infrastructure-related programs and projects across the state.

House Bill 5375, An Act financing long-term improvements to municipal roads and bridges, was given preliminary approval by the House of Representatives on April 15, passing on a vote of 155-0. The bill still requires Senate approval and the governor’s signature before it can take effect.

Representative Howitt noted that the House bill allocates $200 million in Chapter 90 funding for Fiscal Year 2027 using the program’s traditional weighted formula that is based on a community’s local road mileage (58.33%), population (20.83%), and employment levels (20.83%). An additional $100 million is to be distributed based strictly on a community’s local road mileage to help ensure that rural communities with smaller populations receive their fair share of state funding for maintaining their transportation infrastructure.

Established by the Legislature in 1973, the Chapter 90 program offers state funding assistance to cities and towns on a reimbursable basis to help maintain local transportation infrastructure, including roads, bridges and sidewalks.

Representative Howitt said under the House proposal, the towns of Norton, Rehoboth, Seekonk, and Swansea will receive the following distributions from Chapter 90 and 2026 Road Miles funding:

• Norton: $550,108.64 plus $310,139.09, or $860,247.73 total.
• Rehoboth: $624,659.31 plus $451,874.16, or $1,076,533.47 total.
• Seekonk: $580,017.47 plus $337,122.25, or $917,139.72 total.
• Swansea: $564,839.06 plus $341,957.57, or $906,796.63 total.

Representative Howitt noted that in addition to the Chapter 90 appropriation, House Bill 5375 also contains funding for several other statewide transportation infrastructure initiatives, including:

• $500 million for the bridge and pavement lifecycle asset management program;
• $200 million for transportation capital projects;
• $200 million for the Parkway Resilience Improvement and Safety Modernization (PRISM) program, which provides accelerated deferred maintenance, modernization, and safety improvements for multi-modal transportation infrastructure under the control of the Department of Conservation and Recreation; and
• $200 million for the implementation of rail improvements, including the design and acquisition of commuter rail locomotives.

According to Representative Howitt, House Bill 5375 also increases funding authorizations for projects that were previously approved under the 2022 transportation bond bill. Specifically, the House bill will increase funding for:

• interstate and non-interstate federal highway system projects from $2.81 billion to $5.11 billion;
• non-federally aided roadway and bridge projects, and the non-participating share of federally aided projects, from $1.27 billion to $2.07 billion;
• municipal roadway pavement and surface condition improvements from $25 million to $90 million; and
• the public realm improvement program from $10 million to $22 million, which supports grants to municipalities for improvements to sidewalks, streets and parking spaces to create additional capacity for pedestrians and cyclists.

House Bill 5375 now moves to the Senate for its consideration.