MassDOT Board Approves Five-Year Capital Plan

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BOSTON — The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) Board of Directors approved the Fiscal Year 2027-Fiscal Year 2031 Capital Investment Plan (CIP), a strategy to modernize transportation infrastructure, improve safety and reliability, create jobs and support economic growth across Massachusetts.   

The $20.7 billion five-year plan includes $4.4 billion in investments supported by Fair Share revenues and will fund critical improvements to roads, bridges, culverts, rail, and transit infrastructure, while helping advance major projects across the state. The plan also includes other significant investments in the MBTA, Regional Transit Authorities, municipal transportation programs, and bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. 

"The Fiscal Year 2027-Fiscal Year 2031 Capital Investment Plan reflects our commitment to building a safer, more reliable and seamless multimodal transportation network for everyone who lives, works and travels in Massachusetts," said Interim Secretary of Transportation and MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng. "The Healey-Driscoll Administration and the Legislature have continued to make significant investments that have allowed both MassDOT and the MBTA to enhance and expand service, strengthen capacity and technical support for municipalities, and continue to ensure that we are able to execute infrastructure and transit projects that help impact the quality of life for our residents, businesses and visitors. These investments will support economic growth, improve mobility and help ensure that communities across the state can thrive."  

Program highlights of the final Fiscal Year 2027 – Fiscal Year 2031 MassDOT CIP include: 

  • $7.1 billion for the Bridge Program, which includes than 300 projects to replace, repair, and preserve both large and small bridges, including through the Funding for Accelerated Infrastructure Repair (FAIR) initiative for municipally owned bridges. 
  • $2.1 billion for the Roadway Reconstruction Program to modernize roadways and improve safety, mobility, and resiliency. 
  • $2.0 billion for Chapter 90 and other municipal grant programs, including the Complete Streets, Shared Streets and Spaces, and Local Bottleneck Reduction grant programs, along with the new Community Culverts grant program. 
  • $1.77 billion in investments for the MBTA, supporting projects such as new Red and Orange Line vehicles, new Arborway bus maintenance facility in Boston, new bi-level commuter rail coaches, power system upgrades, station accessibility improvements, and other modernization activities.  
  • $1.3 billion for the Interstate, Non-Interstate, and Municipal Pavement Programs for smoother, safer highways and roads. 
  •  $746 million for Intersection Improvements and Systemic Safety Improvements to address top crash locations and protect vulnerable road users like pedestrians and bicyclists, including $75 million to address wrong way driving prevention and detection.  
  • $731 million for investments in bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, including expanding the network of shared use paths, improving sidewalk conditions, and adding bicycle lanes. 
  • More than $500 million to maintain, modernize, and expand rail infrastructure, beyond investments in the MBTA, including more than $200 million for West-East Rail. 
  • More than $340 million for investments in the state's municipal airports and the Registry of Motor Vehicles along with significant funding for rural and small communities, including technical assistance resources and funding for unpaved roads, to support the unique transportation challenges of rural and small towns throughout the state. 
  • $198 million to support the capital needs of the 15 Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs) and an additional $124 million to provide grants to non-profits, councils on aging, and RTAs to purchase vans to provide transportation for older adults and persons with disabilities. 

MassDOT's CIP includes spending for major multi-year investments across the Commonwealth, such as the replacement of the Cape Cod Bridges, the Allston Multimodal Transportation Project, and Compass Rail, (which includes West-East Rail).This CIP also includes funding to advance design for improvements at two major safety and congestion hotspots: the Storrow Drive Tunnel in Boston and the I-93/I-95 interchange in Woburn and Reading. 

Additional significant highway projects funded by the final CIP include:  

  • Bridge replacements on I-495 and Industrial Avenue in Haverhill and Methuen. 
  • Rourke Bridge replacement in Lowell. 
  • General Edwards Bridge replacement in Lynn and Revere 
  • The I-195 to Route 18 Interchange Rehabilitation Project in New Bedford.  
  • Replacement of the North End Bridge in Springfield and West Springfield.  
  • Bridge replacement on I-391 over Chicopee Street (Route 116) in Chicopee. 
  • Ongoing I-90/I-495 interchange improvement project in Hopkinton and Westborough. 
  • Hall-Whitaker Drawbridge and Kernwood Avenue Bridge replacements in Beverly and Salem.  

The plan was informed by a public engagement process that included feedback from municipalities, regional planning agencies, transportation advocates, stakeholders and residents from across the state. The Fiscal Year 2027-Fiscal Year 2031 Capital Investment Plan also reinforces MassDOT's commitment to the principles of Beyond Mobility, the Commonwealth's long-range transportation plan by supporting investments that improve access, expand transportation choices, promote economic development and address the impacts of climate change.  

You can find the Fiscal Year 2027-Fiscal Year 2031 Capital Investment Plan on the MassDOT website here www.mass.gov/lists/developing-the-capital-investment-plan.? 


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Free Vaccinations Available Throughout Berkshire County

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Fall season is also the flu season, which means vaccine clinics are now available.

The Berkshire Vaccine Collaborative will provide public vaccination clinics in Berkshire communities this fall, including the influenza and COVID-19 vaccines. There are about 49 clinics. 

The collaborative began during COVID-19 to help vaccinate people across Berkshire County. Berkshire Health Systems started the Get Vaccinated Berkshires website and still manages it. The group works with the Pittsfield Public Health Department, Community Health Programs, and the Southern Berkshire Public Health Collaborative.

"The majority of people will always get the flu [vaccine] because, as I said, if you've ever gotten the flu, you will always get a flu vaccine because it's so bad. And just so you know, the flu is already in Berkshire County. It's an early season this year," said Leslie Drager, who is the senior public health nurse at Berkshire Regional Planning Commission.

Drager said last year they issued 2,705 vaccines, with more than 1,100 of them being for COVID-19 and more than 1,500 being flu. In total, they were able to vaccinate 1,669 people in Central and North County, in addition to Pittsfield.

Drager also said she will be carrying three types of COVID vaccines this year, which is in high demand.

"We have a high demand of COVID vaccine, which is awesome," she said. "So we're doing a lot of COVID vaccines. Also, I provide Pfizer, and this year I have Moderna and the Novavax, which I think is real important to get out there because the Novavax, a lot of people want, people with long COVID. So I'm carrying all three vaccines this year, which I normally only carry the Pfizer."

Public health departments also can help people access other vaccines such as for measles or meningitis when they cannot get them through a pediatrician, she added.

Using the website, people are able to get vaccines even if they are homebound by filling out a form.

All public Berkshire Vaccine Collaborative clinics are free of charge, but registrants are asked to provide insurance information, when available, in order to defray costs. The clinics are open to anyone 6 months of age or older, the age group recommended to receive an annual flu vaccine and the latest COVID-19 vaccine.

"I always encourage everybody to wear a short sleeve shirt because it makes it a heck of a lot easier to get at," Drager said. "And children, we do carry the nasal flu, the live virus of nasal flu for kids that are afraid to get needles."

Registration is highly recommended for the clinics. Walk-ins may be accepted depending on the number of vaccine doses available at each clinic, with preference given to those who are registered.

"It's really important. I'm really encouraging vaccinations for the schools, because not only you know if the kids are vaccinated and the teachers are vaccinated, the schools won't have the flu go wild right through it," Drager said. "And of course, the best way to prevent infections: washing your hands. So don't touch your face, and wash your hands."

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