Posted on June 11, 2019
BOSTON — The Baker-Polito administration announced its fiscal year 2020 Capital Investment Plan Thursday, with funding for two major projects in the city.
The plan includes $10 million for the city’s harbor dredging project and $115 million for South Coast Rail.
The funding for dredging is “part of the Administration’s continuing commitment to economic development in the Southeastern region of the Commonwealth” according to a press release from the governor’s office.
The city received $1.6 million in state funding last year to design the dredging project and this year’s funding will be used for its construction, according to New Bedford Port Authority Director Ed Anthes-Washburn.
“I am elated,” said Anthes-Washburn. “It’s something we’ve been focused on since 2008.”
Mayor Jon Mitchell called the funding “both timely and well needed” and said he was grateful to Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito for advocating for the project on the state level.
The city received a $15.4 million BUILD grant from the federal government to dredge the harbor at the end of last year and Anthes-Washburn called this funding from the state, “the last piece of the puzzle.”
The dredging would create room for 60 additional commercial vessels and create additional sites for offshore wind staging.
“It’s a good day for the Port of New Bedford and it’s setting us up for the next 20, 30 years of development,” said Anthes-Washburn.
An economic impact study prepared by Martin Associates and Foth-CLE Engineering Group projected the dredging would lead to a local tax pay back of $12.5 million annually, produce $286 million in business revenue, and create 879 jobs.
Anthes-Washburn said the goal is to complete the dredging in the next three years.
“The region’s most important economic asset is the Port of New Bedford and we’ve worked hard over the last several years to modernize its infrastructure,” said Mitchell, “The state’s commitment to berth dredging is another step toward having a port that is competitive in all maritime sectors.”
Plans for South Coast Rail extend the Middleboro commuter rail line to New Bedford and Fall River, giving SouthCoast residents a direct link to the state’s capital.
“The capital funds for that project are a signal that it’s moving forward,” said Mitchell, “Obviously it’s an important project to Southeastern Massachusetts generally. We’ll have to continue to advocate for the completion of the project for sure, but we do appreciate the Baker administration’s funding of the next steps in the project.”
State House News Service reported in April that experts project service to start in late 2023.
Across the Commonwealth the majority of the administration’s plan is dedicated to maintenance and modernization of existing assets with only about a quarter of the funding dedicated to targeted growth. Over the next five years, the plan has the state spending $2.1 billion on bridge investments, $800 million for projects on the metropolitan highway system, and $766.9 million to improve the pavement condition on non-interstate highways.
There is also a strong focus on addressing climate change in the plan, with $60 million set aside to address its causes and effects.
Source: southcoasttoday.com
