To build a strong economy that expands opportunity, Massachusetts needs a transportation system that works. MassBudget's new fact sheet,
Maintaining an Effective Transportation System, examines information from the Department of Transportation that suggests current levels of investment are not enough to keep our roads, bridges and public transit system in good working order.
Well-maintained roads save time and money. Thirty-seven percent of state-owned road miles are officially in "Poor" or "Fair" condition in Massachusetts. The Department of Transportation currently invests an average of $54 million annually to repave roads. At this level, they project that road conditions will deteriorate further, with 79 percent of roads in poor or fair condition by 2025. Merely preventing current road conditions from worsening would require a four-fold increase in investment.
With current funding, the Department similarly predicts that the number of structurally deficient bridges will increase from about 400 today to over 700 in a decade. And based on the resources currently available to fix the MBTA, the transit agency would face a $600 million shortfall in basic repairs over the coming five years, even without including costs to upgrade or expand the current system.
To read the fact sheet on how different levels of investment move our Commonwealth towards or away from an effective and efficient transportation system, please click
HERE.
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