Agency proposes three studies in T bill to reshape town-highway funding and payback rules

Summary

At a Senate Transportation Committee hearing, Jeremy Reed of the Agency of Transportation outlined language for the T bill that would require three reports: municipal payback provisions, an asset-management and long-term funding study for town highways, and a review of grant delivery and administrative efficiency.

Jeremy Reed, chief engineer for the Agency of Transportation, told the Senate Transportation Committee on Thursday that the agency would propose language in the transportation bill (T bill) to require three separate studies and reports addressing town-highway needs and funding.

“The intent would be to look at the current status and devise statutory language that clarify and provide some specificity on what the payback provisions would be for municipalities when they did not continue to progress the project,” Reed said. He told the committee the agency would report back on that first study by Jan. 15, 2026.

The package Reed described is organized in three parts. The first would clarify municipal “payback” responsibilities for town projects that have stalled — a rule the agency currently ties to Federal Highway language and which, Reed said, may need updating after inflation and changes under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The agency plans to use a January 2026 report to…

Agency proposes three studies in T bill to reshape town-highway funding and payback rules

Summary

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