WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, voted in support of the Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation (INVEST) in America Act, an ambitious package that will make transformational investments in America’s highways, roads, bridges, transit, rail, and water infrastructure to create jobs, modernize our infrastructure, and attack the climate crisis head-on.
“For too long, Congress has failed to act boldly to rebuild our outdated infrastructure, forcing communities here in the Commonwealth and across our nation to foot the bill. The INVEST in America Act finally changes that by making a once-in-a-generation investment in rebuilding our hard infrastructure and getting people back to work in good paying jobs,” said Congresswoman Trahan. “This package includes several provisions key to the Third District, including part of my bipartisan legislation to increase federal funding to stop combined sewage overflows, as well as funds to rebuild our roads and bridges, clean up our drinking water, upgrade our public transit, and more. I look forward to working with President Biden and my colleagues to get these long overdue investments across the finish line, so cities and towns can get to work on projects that will improve the lives of everyone who calls Massachusetts home.”
Trahan successfully secured portions of her bipartisan Stop Sewage Overflow Act in the package, including $2 billion in grants specifically addressing combined sewage overflows (CSOs), an issue that has plagued communities along the banks of the Merrimack River. The INVEST in America Act also includes Trahan’s provision to lower local cost-share requirements for these grants, meaning participating communities will be able to opt-in with less than a dollar-for-dollar match.
To support specific infrastructure projects in the Third District, Trahan also successfully requested more than $19 million in federal funding, including:
- $3 million for improvements to the VFW highway;
- $2.9 million for 6-mile double-tracking between Lawrence and Wilmington;
- $2 million for upgrades to Boston Road in Westford;
- $2 million in investments for Foster Street in Littleton;
- $1 million for Route 2A between Littleton and Ayer;
- $1 million for the Sudbury-Concord section of the Bruce Freeman Trail;
- $1 million for roadway improvements at the intersection of Mass Avenue (Route 111) and Main Street (Route 27) in Acton;
- $1 million for roadway rehabilitation on Route 101 South in Ashburnham;
- $1 million for intersection improvements at Greenville Road (Route 31) and Turnpike Road in Ashby;
- $1 million to support intersection reconstruction on Route 108 (Newton Road) and Route 110 (Kenoza Avenue and Amesbury Road) in Haverhill;
- $1 million for improvements to the intersection of Riverside Drive and Burnham Road in Methuen;
- $775,000 to support improvements to the Lowell Regional Transit Authority’s (LRTA) Hale Street Fueling Station;
- $725,000 to support riverbank stabilization construction at Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority (MVRTA) bus garage and administration building in Haverhill;
- $624,000 for a new hybrid electric bus for the LRTA;
- $400,000 for a roof replacement project at Fitchburg Intermodal Facility;
- And $375,000 for new vans for elderly and those with disabilities in Haverhill, through the MVRTA Office of Special Services.
In addition to the investments in stopping CSOs and local infrastructure projects, the INVEST in America Act provides funding to support:
- Road, Bridge, and Safety Improvements: $343 billion to speed up the timeline to rebuild roads and bridges, with $34 billion allocated specifically to ensure community bridges of all sizes are safer and more reliable. It also includes funding to make roads safer and unseat America from its leadership in road fatality rates in the industrialized world.
- Transit Upgrades: $109 billion to reduce the transit maintenance backlog nationwide, increase access to riders, make commutes to and from work more efficient, and make transit vehicles environmentally efficient to reduce the sector’s greenhouse gas emissions, which are the largest single source in the United States.
- Clean Drinking Water: $117 billion to make long overdue upgrades to the drinking water supply American families rely on, replace lead pipes in schools and child care facilities, clean up and prevent PFAS contaminations, and ensure that families can afford their water bills, no matter their income level.
- Passenger and Freight Rail: $95 billion to repair and improve rail service and safety, including investments to support service on the Northeast Corridor, develop high-speed rail projects, and shorten travel times.
- Wastewater Infrastructure: $51.25 billion to upgrade wastewater infrastructure, including $40 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, the primary federal source for clean water infrastructure funding, and provides funding for state water pollution control programs, assistance to communities struggling to afford new project costs, and a new clean water grant program for communities with failing sewage systems.
- Buy American Provisions: These provisions will support domestic manufacturing while also providing American workers with family-supporting wages, registered apprenticeships, and strong labor protections.
For additional information on how the INVEST in America Act would bolster communities across the Commonwealth, fact sheets are included below:
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