Rick Dimino

The public debate about infrastructure improvements metropolitan Boston will be different this year. Riders on the MBTA will be seeing new trains enter service, capital projects completed and new dedicated bus lanes in action. This is happening just as significant federal infrastructure dollars are coming available. We can now raise expectations on what should come next and demand ambitious schedules for the transformational infrastructure changes this region deserves.  

Under Gov. Charlie Baker, the MBTA produced an impressive progress in the area of capital infrastructure spending. Seven years ago, the MBTA only spent $600 million on system-wide infrastructure projects. This past year the MBTA spent almost $2 billion. New vehicles for the Orange and Red Lines continue to enter service, and the Green Line Extension project will finally be completed this year. These successes show the agency can now deliver on multiple, complicated infrastructure projects and is prepared to do more.  

These public transit investments help improve mobility options and support the region’s economic growth, but these are projects that were a long time coming. Massachusetts agreed to fund the Green Line Extension project in 2006. The contract and financing for the Orange and Red lines’ trains started in 2014, even before Gov. Baker took office. While it is understandable that complex transportation improvements take years to complete, these types of projects should not take decades.  

Federal Funds Require Changes in State Laws  

The scale of the challenges facing the commonwealth’s transportation infrastructure continues to be vast but progress is achievable. It requires both a comprehensive funding plan and innovative procurement methods. Massachusetts state government, legislative leaders and the MBTA should focus on near-term strategy to update state laws related to capital project delivery, so that future transit and decarbonization projects can move quickly and take advantage of federal dollars.  

Overseeing the implementation of the Biden administration federal infrastructure program while also managing ongoing state projects will be new challenging for the commonwealth. Gov. Baker recently promised a new transportation bond bill that would provide state matching funds for this federal money. This upcoming legislation is the ideal time to also modernize and reform the laws that govern public procurements and capital delivery.  

This commitment to streamlining projects worked in 2009, when Massachusetts approved changes in procurement rules for projects supported by President Barack Obama’s stimulus program. This allowed the commonwealth to consider both the proposed cost in a contractor’s bid along with the expected time they promised to complete the project. The ability to consider both time and cost in a proposal, or “A+B bidding” ended in 2013, but is successfully used in other public infrastructure projects throughout the nation.  

In prior years Gov. Baker proposed several changes that unfortunately failed to generate support in the legislature, such as allowing “design-build-finance-operate-maintain” methods, “Design-Build” contracts for any sized construction project and authorizations for public-private partnerships. It is time to propose these changes again, as part of a strategy to move forward on larger, federally funded infrastructure projects and any investments that support statewide resiliency and decarbonization goals.  

Decarbonization Plans Can’t Wait 

The commonwealth needs to see results from our decarbonization initiatives. The transportation sector is the single largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in Massachusetts and the transition to privately-owned electric vehicles will not solve this challenge. The most effective, and equitable solution to reducing vehicular emissions and traffic congestion is through investments in modern rail and transit services.  

The commonwealth is committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050, but the state’s decarbonization roadmap expects a majority of the transit infrastructure changes to be in place by 2040. This includes an electrified commuter rail system and bus network, and vehicular charging infrastructure. These overhauls will take significant time and resources, and they must move forward as soon as possible.  

These changes in procurements laws and capital delivery methods are not a substitute for a comprehensive transportation finance plan to address our needs in the next two decades. However, the debate on additional transportation revenue will likely take place during this gubernatorial election and then be addressed by a future legislature.  

For the next two years, while the MBTA operating budget is balanced from federal COVID-19 relief dollars, the commonwealth can show progress on infrastructure projects, reaffirm the value in public transit and be a responsible steward of public resources. Then, when the commonwealth needs to generate the resources to support our statewide transportation needs, we can continue to point to infrastructure investments as reason to continue building a modern transit system that supports economic growth, climate goals and mobility needs of the people in this region.   

The longest journey starts with a single step, and the MBTA has taken great strides forward. Now we must continue the progress and start moving faster. 

Rick Dimino is CEO of A Better City.