AASHTO Journal - Massachusetts Planning $8B in Transportation Investments

Governor Maura Healey (D) recently unveiled a 10-year, $8 billion plan to make what she called “historic investments” in roads, bridges, and the regional transportation systems within Massachusetts, while “immediately stabilizing” the finances of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority or MBTA; putting the state’s largest public transit system on a “path of long-term stability.”

[Above photo by MassDOT]

The governor said her $8 billion plan will be filed as legislation as part of her fiscal year 2026 budget proposal, along with an accompanying supplemental budget. Gov. Healey added that this plan would be paid for without raising taxes; relying on what she called “maximizing ‘Fair Share’ revenue and other existing resources” and putting into action recommendations outlined in the state’s Transportation Funding Task Force’s final report.

“Fair Share” revenue refers to the approval in November 2022 by Massachusetts voters of a 4 percent surtax on income above $1 million annually.

Known as the “Fair Share amendment,” that tax revenue is dedicated via the state constitution to “quality public education and affordable public colleges and universities, and for the repair and maintenance of roads, bridges, and public transportation.” The governor’s office noted that, in FY 2024, the state collected $2.46 billion from that surtax; nearly $1.5 billion above what had been budgeted.

“This historic transportation proposal represents smart, forward-thinking fiscal management, and it will have an impact on people in all regions of our state,” the governor noted in a statement.

“We’re going to invest billions of dollars to deliver better roads, less traffic, safer bridges and a transit system that works in every region,” she stressed. “We’ll close the MBTA’s budget gap, improving service and upgrading stations, and we’ll move forward on regional projects like West-East Rail. And we’ll do this all without raising taxes.”

Monica Tibbits-Nutt, secretary and CEO of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, noted that “transportation systems must work if we want our communities to thrive” and that requires “significant financing” initiatives for both the short and long-term.

“With the governor’s plan, we are taking very actionable steps to increase the use of ‘Fair Share ‘revenue, offer municipalities more money through the Chapter 90 program, double support for the MBTA’s operating budget, and expand micro-transit services,” Tibbits-Nutt said.

Overall, the governor’s proposed 10-year transportation plan would include:

Funding $1.4 billion in investments at the MBTA for new commuter rail coaches, Red and Orange Line cars, station accessibility and resilience, track improvements and power system resiliency.
Spending $2.5 billion for road and bridge repairs across the state through MassDOT, with money set aside for culverts, small bridge repairs, plus and safety and congestion hot spots.
Immediately directing $857 million in surplus Fair Share revenue from FY 2024 to public transportation.
Dedicating $765 million in Fair Share resources from FY 2026 to the Commonwealth Transportation Fund, building on a strategy developed by the governor’s administration to maximize “Fair Share” revenue through borrowing to yield $5 billion over the next 10 years for capital investment bonds in rail, roads, bridges, Regional Transit Authorities, and culverts.
More than doubling fiscal support for the MBTA’s operating budget to $687 million in FY 2026 and immediately address the agency’s budget shortfall, putting the MBTA on a path of long-term stability. This increase comes after the governor doubled the MBTA’s operating budget to $314 million in FY 2025.
File a multi-year Chapter 90 bill to grow the size of the funding pool directed to cities and towns to $300 million per year for five years.