North Reading Closes In on $514,688 In State Road Funding

A release from the office of State Representative Brad Jones:

The House and Senate have finalized a $200 million bond authorization to help finance municipal road and bridge projects under the state’s Chapter 90 program. North Reading is slated to receive $514,688 to spend on local transportation infrastructure under the bill, which passed the House and the Senate unanimously on April 26. The bond bill is now on Governor Baker’s desk awaiting his signature.

The House initially approved a Chapter 90 bond bill on April 5, while the Senate passed its own version on
April 11. A conference committee appointed to reconcile the differences between the two bills came to an
agreement on the $200 million spending plan just hours before it was voted on by both legislative branches.

“This bond funding will go a long way towards addressing some of North Reading’s most critical infrastructure needs,” said House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones, Jr. (R-North Reading).

“The road and bridge repair funds program that we funded in the Legislature is designed to help each and every community that we represent have safer and less congested roads,” said Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester). “We know that these dollars will help cities and town get the job done during this important construction season.”

Established in 1973, the Chapter 90 program allocates funding on an annual basis to cities and towns using a
formula based on the weighted average of a municipality’s population, employment, and total road miles. The
funds are paid out as reimbursements to communities for qualifying infrastructure work.

Chapter 90 funds can be spent on a variety of municipal roadway projects, including resurfacing, drainage,
sidewalks, guardrails, traffic control, right-of- way acquisition and street lighting. The funding can also be used for bikeways, landscaping and tree planting associated with certain projects, and for purchasing and maintaining certain road building machinery, equipment and tools.

Governor Baker has until May 6 to sign the bond bill into law.