$15 Billion Transportation Plan Targets Consistency, Improvements

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation Board approved a $14.8 billion 5-year Capital Investment Plan Monday that targets improving what it's got, rather than extending lines or building new infrastructure.

It's in line with calls from Gov. Charlie Baker to focus on repairing and modernizing existing transit infrastructure.

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"I don't expect to cut a lot of big ribbons over the course of the next few years, and I'm OK with that," Baker said at a recent Boston summit on transportation, according to MassLive.com. "I believe in reliability, modernization and expansion, in that order."

The MassDOT plan approved Monday reflects that mindset.

According to highlights from the transit department, $1 billion will go toward road repairs/maintenance, $476 million will go toward non-interstate paving, $4 billion will fix up aging MBTA infrastructure and $1 billion will target signals and power improvements - among the leading causes of service delays. Another $1.6 billion will go toward new buses and train cars on the Red, Orange and Green Lines.

Still in the budget is the state's $1.1 billion allocation for the delayed Green Line Extension project.

The MassDOT said 77 percent of the plan's funding targets reliability improvement to core systems or modernization of existing infrastructure. Meanwhile, highway funding is down 27 percent over five years, averaging under $1.2 billion per year and prompting outcry from construction advocates, The Boston Globe reports.

>> Photo by Alison Bauter, Patch staff

>> Please note headline has been updated to reflect correct budget total