MassDOT Seeking Funding for Bike-Pedestrian Bridge, Bus Lanes, and Policing

Christian MilNeil reports on the projects Massachusetts has submitted federal RAISE grant applications for, including a bike and pedestrian bridge connecting Everett to the Assembly Orange Line station and a new center bus lane in Boston. "RAISE, formerly known as BUILD and TIGER, is a competitive discretionary grant program that, according the Biden administration, 'will prioritize projects that can demonstrate improvements to racial equity, reduce impacts of climate change, and create good-paying jobs.'"

Boston hopes for better luck with the Blue Hill Avenue bus and bike lanes this time around. "Last year, the city and the MBTA filed a similar application for Blue Hill Avenue through the same discretionary funding program. But the Trump administration rejected it, opting to fund a $300 million highway interchange in Hopkinton instead."

"MassDOT also submitted a grant application seeking $25 million in federal funds for the planned Mystic River bike and pedestrian bridge, which would extend the Northern Strand Trail from Everett to the Assembly Orange Line Station" and potentially serve more than 2,000 users daily.

The agency also applied for funding aimed at policing, "asking for $18 million for 'the construction and installation of various safety and security measures, including security fencing to minimize trespassing, Blue Light Emergency Call Box Stations and CCTV cameras at stations, expanded Amtrak police radio coverage, buried fiber optic cable throughout the corridor, innovative surveillance equipment such as an aerial drone and Polaris Ranger Utility Task Vehicle, and T-20 hand-thrown switch machines along the line,' according to a MassDOT press release."