Dear Friends,
Last Friday, I had the honor of joining President Obama at the White House for the signing of the Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2012. It was an important moment for the country, and for Massachusetts, because it will allow us to make strategic investments that create jobs and enable growth across our economy.
I applaud President Obama, and the Massachusetts delegation, for pushing through this important piece of legislation.
As Lt. Governor, I have been working directly on transportation issues across Massachusetts because roads, bridges, railways, airports and seaports are the enabling network of our economy. The Seaport Advisory Council, which I chair, has partnered with New Bedford, Fall River, Gloucester, Salem and other communities to improve their maritime infrastructure and the jobs it supports. I’ve focused on rail issues, starting the process of extending passenger rail service to the South Coast, and leading our administration’s years-long effort that achieved an historic agreement to relocate the CSX rail yard in Boston. The CSX project will enhance commuter rail service through Metrowest and to Worcester, improve the movement of freight throughout the state, and create a major redevelopment opportunity along the Charles River where the rail yard now stands.
Throughout this work, and other projects, I’ve seen first-hand the clear relationship between the quality of transportation infrastructure, job creation and economic growth. This new federal law will authorize $105 billion in funding through Fiscal Year 2014, of which Massachusetts will receive nearly $1.2 billion for highway investments and more than $695 million for transit investments. That will mean roughly 11,000 new jobs per year for the next two years, working on vital projects that will strengthen our economy.
For example, the new funding will pay for rehabilitation of the I-291 bridge over Page Boulevard in Springfield; replacement of the Route 146 bridge over West Main Street in Millbury; reconstruction of Liberty Street in Danvers; and many other projects across the Commonwealth. For a list of projects to be funded please go to www.timmurray.org. Furthermore, we will leverage the federal program to continue to invest in our 15 regional transit authorities and the MBTA, improving mobility for residents of our Gateway cities, our seniors, and persons with disabilities.
When Governor Patrick and I took office in 2007 we made it a priority to fix our crumbling roads and bridges, and improve our railways, airports and sea ports. Through the Accelerated Bridge Program, and the transportation bond bill investments we have made all across Massachusetts, we have made important progress, but there is still much more work to be done.
While we must continue the discussion on how we fund our statewide transportation system in the next year, this new federal funding will allow us to move forward in many ways. As always, we welcome the BMG community’s support and feedback on this important issue.
Sincerely,
Tim Murray
Lieutenant Governor
kate says
Transportation infrastructure is so critical for us. I appreciate your work on this important issue.
dont-get-cute says
An efficient and nice local rail system is going to be so crucial when we start to run out of oil, which some say we are already starting to do. I’m glad you didn’t say we need more high speed rail, we just need the normal rail to be solid and useful.
Why not double the number of jobs and double the number of people working on the railroads and bridges?
oceandreams says
Thank you for the information and the work on our transportation infrastructure, which is important both for our economy and our quality of life. (Aside: It sure would be nice to have reliable rail service into Boston that ran on a reasonably frequent schedule for those people not on a 9 to 5 commute schedule …)
Two questions come to mind:
1) Can anything be done to help solve the problem of massive traffic jams in downtown Framingham when a train goes through?
2) Are the various bridge and roadway projects taking a “complete streets” view of transportation to ensure that we have safe and appealing pedestrian streetscapes as well as safe bicycle transportation? It is frustrating to read about projects already in the works that ignore the needs of walkers and cyclists.
timmurray says
Thank you for your questions and I am happy like to address them. 1. Can anything be done to help solve the problem of massive traffic jams in downtown Framingham when a train goes through?
In June, the Highway Division began our new “Small Bottlenecks Program,” which in this first year will directly affect the towns of Newburyport, Sandwich, Fitchburg, and Westhampton.
The program is designed to provide communities with both the funding and technical assistance to complete roadway improvement projects valued at or about $1 million that do not score high enough to qualify for federal funding, but would result in significant improvements for the local economy, quality of life, safety and/or commute times. We hope to expand this program moving forward to apply to more cities and towns across the Commonwealth. Additionally we will continue to work with the local statehouse delegation and Framingham’s elected and appointed officials in scoping out opportunities to improve traffic flow at routes 126/135. Also we will continue our efforts and investments at improving traffic flow in front of town hall and making streetscape beautification investments.
2. Are the various bridge and roadway projects taking a “complete streets” view of transportation to ensure that we have safe and appealing pedestrian streetscapes as well as safe bicycle transportation?
The Healthy Transportation Compact is a key requirement of the landmark transportation reform legislation signed into law in June 2009. It is an interagency initiative and collaboration focused on adopting best practices to increase efficiency to achieve positive health outcomes through the coordination of land use, transportation and public health policy.
I hope this is helpful.
oceandreams says
I appreciate the detailed response to my questions. Thank you.
t4ma says
Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray has been a tireless champion of improving our transportation infrastructure. Transportation for Massachusetts thanks him for his efforts to improve freight and passenger rail service and fix roads and bridges throughout the state. The Surface Transportation Extension Act will fund some important needs, but we can’t count on federal funding to meet the backlog of maintenance needs that exist in all corners of the state.
It is more important than ever that the administration, lawmakers, business leaders and residents work together during the coming months to determine how Massachusetts can fund its transportation system today, and into the future.
Going forward, we need to view our transportation infrastructure as a comprehensive statewide network made up of public transit, roads and bridges, bike paths, and sidewalks that provide affordable, safe, and convenient transportation options to all of the state’s residents.
To do this, we need to create a long-term funding solution that will allow us to fix and build a transportation network that will effectively support our economy, helping people get to jobs and school.
Kristina Egan
Director,
Transportation for Massachusetts
Mr. Lynne says
… on account of an elected representative answering direct questions on the thread.