Governor Healy unveils $8 billion transportation proposal, shifts Chapter 90 to mileage-based formula

At a visit to Conway in Franklin County, Governor Healy said the administration will propose an $8 billion transportation funding plan that would use existing surtax revenue and borrowing to increase municipal road aid and resilience investments for rural communities.

The governor framed the proposal as a way to address longstanding underinvestment, saying the plan would boost Chapter 90 municipal aid by $100 million annually and direct those additional dollars with a mileage-based formula so towns with many road miles get larger shares. "We intend to go further, through a game changing transportation funding plan," the governor said, adding the proposal would let the state “spend $8,000,000,000 over 10 years on transportation and do that statewide.”

Why it matters: Chapter 90 is the primary state program that pays cities and towns for road and bridge work. Local officials and regional planners said the shift from population-based to mileage-based distribution could markedly increase funding for rural municipalities that maintain long road networks but have small resident populations.

Key details of the proposal and local reaction

- Funding mechanics: The administration said the plan would seek to leverage the portion of a voter-approved surtax that is already earmarked for transportation (the speaker described half of the surtax revenue as designated for transportation and half for education) to access capital markets and increase available funds without new taxes.

- Chapter 90: The administration proposes a $100 million annual increase in Chapter 90 funds; officials said every dollar of that additional $100 million would be allocated according to road mileage rather than population.

- Resilience and small-asset work: The plan would add $200 million for culverts and small bridges to improve flood resilience and reduce the chance of emergency repairs after severe weather events.

- Transit and microtransit: The administration also pledged new investments in regional transit authorities (RTAs) and microtransit solutions to improve mobility in rural areas.

Local officials at the Conway event welcomed the plan. Veronique Blanchard, Conway town administrator, said the administration’s attention and added administrative support have helped Conway recover from severe flooding in 2023 and commended the new Rural Affairs office for elevating small-town concerns. "The Healy-Driscoll administration's focus on small and rural towns has increased both funding and administrative help for small towns like Conway," Blanchard said.

Monica Tibbets Nutt, secretary of transportation, described the proposal as part of a broader administration effort to make funding more equitable across the state: "Western Massachusetts is set to see a transformative boost in the amount of money that they're receiving," she said, adding figures the administration has presented estimate increases ranging from 50% to 90% in some Western Mass. allocations and that Conway would see about an 82% increase under the proposed changes.

Linda Dunlavy of the Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG) said the proposed shift to mileage-based Chapter 90 distributions would raise Franklin County municipalities' allocations on average by about 75%. She also told officials that municipalities in the county have an average of about 10 culverts in fair or poor condition, underscoring the potential need for targeted culvert funding.

What was not decided

Officials presented the proposal and took questions but did not vote on or formally adopt the plan at the Conway event. The governor described the plan as a budgetary proposal and fiscal approach the administration intends to advance; formal adoption would require legislative and budgetary processes not concluded at the meeting.

Context and background

Speakers repeatedly cited severe weather and 2023 flooding around the Connecticut River as drivers of the urgency to invest in resilience. The administration said the plan relies on existing surtax revenue streams and on leveraging that revenue to access capital — described in the meeting as a way to increase available spending without imposing new taxes. The event included state and regional transportation officials and local municipal administrators and planners discussing how the proposed changes would affect local project planning and emergency preparedness.

Looking ahead

Officials said MassDOT staff and administration representatives planned further outreach in the region, including events in Greenfield to discuss Chapter 90, passenger rail, and RTAs. The proposal must still be detailed in a budget and considered by the Legislature and other state processes before funds are available or allocation formulas change.