State Rep. Wong supports House passage of Chapter 90 bond bill

Saugus to receive $638,779 in road and bridge funding

BOSTON – State Representative Donald H. Wong (R-Saugus) recently supported legislation that will provide Saugus with $638,779 in road and bridge funding for Fiscal Year 2022 under the state’s Chapter 90 program.

House Bill 3903, An Act financing improvements to municipal roads and bridges, authorizes a total of $200 million in Chapter 90 spending, along with $75 million in additional transportation infrastructure funding for projects across the state. The bill was given initial approval by the House of Representatives on a unanimous roll call vote of 160-0 on June 22.

Established by the Legislature in 1973, the Chapter 90 program uses a distribution formula based on a community’s population, employment and total road miles to allocate funding to cities and towns on an annual basis. It is a 100 percent reimbursable program that provides state funding assistance to municipalities for capital improvements such as highway construction, preservation and improvement projects, including road resurfacing and related work such as sidewalks, traffic control measures, and roadside drainage.

Representative Wong said House Bill 3903 also increases funding for three additional transportation infrastructure accounts within the Massachusetts Department of Transportation that were funded in a comprehensive transportation bond bill signed into law on January 15. This includes:

• a $25 million increase for the municipal small bridge program, which helps fund construction, repairs and improvements for non-federally aided bridges, bringing the total appropriation to $95 million;
• a $25 million increase in grants to municipalities for the prioritization and enhancement of mass transit by bus, doubling the program’s appropriation to $50 million; and
• a $25 million increase in grants to municipalities for local projects that increase access to mass transit and commuter rail stations, bringing the total appropriation to $50 million.

House Bill 3903 now moves to the Senate for its consideration.