Selectmen Want Compromise on Road Bill

The politics surrounding the state transportation finance bill could cut into Westborough's road work plans this season, Town Manager Jim Malloy said Tuesday night.

Malloy asked selectmen to direct him to send a letter to Westborough's three state representatives, its state senator, and to Gov. Deval Patrick, “pointing out how important this is” and asking them to pursue a compromise.

Selectmen agreed.

“My concern is they’ll go back and forth” and possibly not have a transportation bond bill on July 1, and Westborough would “end up missing some construction," Malloy said.

The House approved the $500 million state transportation finance bill by a 97-55 vote Monday night, the Associated Press reported.

"That margin would fall just shy, however, of the necessary votes to override a threatened veto by Gov. Deval Patrick, who says the bill won’t do enough to repair and upgrade the state’s aging transportation infrastructure," the AP reported.

State Reps. Danielle Gregoire (D-Marlborough) and Matthew Beaton (R-Shrewsbury) voted against the bill, while state Rep. Carolyn Dykema (D-Holliston) supported it.

The plan calls for Westborough to get $1,236,429 in state transportation funding for fiscal year 2014, up from $824,286 this year.

Malloy said the road management plan in Westborough’s budget document states “we need to be funding about $1.1 million to be replacing our road surfaces on a regular basis as their life cycle ends.”

“This is obviously a very good thing that we’ll be seeing a level of funding that we’ve needed to get to," as Westborough has been at the “same funding level for 15 to 20 years, and inflation has eroded most of it," Malloy said.