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‘Trying to do more with less’: Massachusetts prepares for inflation with proposed road funding bill

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‘Trying to do more with less’: Massachusetts prepares for inflation with proposed road funding bill

Apr 16, 2025 | 11:43 am ET
By Payton Renegar
‘Trying to do more with less’: Massachusetts prepares for inflation with proposed road funding bill
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Photo courtesy of CommonWealth Beacon

WITH INFLATION pressure rising, municipalities are looking for additional funds for roads and infrastructure.

A bill proposed by Gov. Maura Healey would borrow $1.5 billion over the next five years to fund reconstruction and repairs to municipally-owned roads and bridges.

“With costs increasing and costs having already increased, and especially with moves by President [Donald] Trump, that continue to, it seems, further inflationary results, including the raising of tariffs, municipalities are stuck trying to do more with less,” Healey told to the Legislature’s Committee on Transportation last week.

At the same time, construction prices are rising, with the cost of hot mix asphalt doubling, according to Diana Szynal, chair of the Hatfield Select Board.

About 12 percent of asphalt binder used in the US is imported from Canada, according to the National Asphalt Pavement Association. Cement makes up 5 percent of asphalt mixtures but accounts for 40 percent of the total cost.

In an April 2 press release, the White House announced a 10 percent tariff on all countries.

“These tariffs will remain in effect until such a time as President Trump determines that the threat posed by the trade deficit and underlying nonreciprocal treatment is satisfied, resolved or mitigated,” the statement said.

The “Fair Share Fund,” also known as the “Millionaire’s Tax,” a 4 percent surtax on taxable income over $1 million, would fund Healey’s bill, Administration and Finance Secretary Matthew Gorzkowicz told the transportation committee.

“It will boost vital funding for all cities and towns … across the state, from the largest to the smallest, with big commitment to rural communities,” Gorzkowicz said.

Previous Chapter 90 allotments, which provide funding to municipalities for improvements on public road infrastructure, have not kept up with road construction needs, said Georgia Barlow from the Metropolitan Action Planning Council.

Some advocates of the proposal from rural areas favor distributing the funds by road miles.

“The cost to maintain a road is no different,” said Linda Dunlavy, executive director of the Franklin Regional Council of Governments. “Whether a municipality has 100 people, 1,000 people or 10,000 people.”

Franklin County towns receive around $230,000 from Chapter 90 a year, she added. However, it costs $340,000 to repave one mile.

With the proposal, municipalities would see a 50 percent increase in the annual allotment, said Adam Chapdelaine, executive director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association.

“The governor’s bill makes a necessary investment in municipally owned small bridges and culverts, which will protect public safety, improve climate resiliency and restore ecosystem connectivity,” Chapdelaine said.

Climate change can affect roadways and pose risks to transportation systems. An increase in extreme storms can lead to more flooding, damaging roads, bridges, and tunnels, while also weakening roadway materials, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Chrissy Lynch, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO said Healey’s bill would increase funding for the “vital infrastructure work that needs to be done” to ensure the region is flood resilient as climate change brings worsening storms and more flooding.

“Decades of deferred maintenance and under-investment have led to decay in bridges and roads that can’t measure up to cold New England winters,” Lynch said. “Now we have dozens of bridges deemed unsafe and roads routinely flooded.”

Payton Renegar is an intern with the Boston University State House reporting program.