Billons raised from the Fair Share surtax will be spent on roads, bridges and other projects. All without raising taxes.
Press events with politicians, especially those that are part of tours with names like the “Transforming Transportation Road Show,” are often more show than substance wherein officials say a lot of nothing. We give credit to Gov. Maura Healey for bucking that cliche in her recent visit to the Berkshires.
Anyone who reads our editorial column frequently knows we wholeheartedly agree with the governor’s Tuesday remarks at Lenox Town Hall about the overlooked systemic struggles, especially regarding infrastructure, facing rural corners of the commonwealth like Berkshire County. We think Gov. Healey’s straightforwardness deserves particular praise: “I want you to know that I recognize that Berkshire County contributes more than their share to our state’s tourism economy, cultural output, natural resources and food production. You deserve a better deal from the state than you have been getting over decades,” adding “and I think over time, this state has not invested what it should.”
It’s rescue time for rural Massachusetts, state Auditor Suzanne Bump declared Monday, as her department releases evidence of inequitable government investment in the western part of the state.
While the full recognition of that Western Massachusetts reality from top state leaders in Eastern Massachusetts is long overdue, this frankness from the governor is refreshing. The regional inequity in the state’s community infrastructure investment has long been felt by Berkshire residents, and those feelings were validated by a 2021 State Auditor’s Office report on the disproportionate challenges facing Massachusetts’ westernmost four counties. We see and feel those many bumps in our Berkshire roads: straining culverts and dams that threaten dangerous floods; a bevy of broken bridges inconveniencing residents and compromising emergency response; public safety and school buildings in desperate need of repair or replacement.
While it doesn’t solve all those problems, it’s good to see the governor assessing these issues up close and hear her speak the plain truth about the raw deal that too many Berkshire communities are getting from their state.
Still, actions speak louder than words.
There’s room for cautious optimism that Gov. Healey’s willingness to clearly identify the problem might clear the way for some workable solutions on Beacon Hill. We welcome the governor’s proposal to restructure the Chapter 90 funding formula to boost aid for rural road upkeep, and we hope the Legislature sees the need among its rural constituents for this sensible update. We’re also glad to hear Gov. Healey’s $8.4 million proposed infrastructure package includes $200 million just for culverts and small bridges — pressure points that definitely need attention in many Berkshire communities.
In other domains, we like what we’re hearing, but we want to hear more. Gov. Healey mentioned she wants to “eliminate red tape” for certain infrastructure projects — an effort we’d welcome, given the number of painfully long delays on bridge and dam projects across the Berkshires that cost taxpayers more as the timelines stretch to unreasonable length. What exactly is the red tape that the governor thinks can be sensibly targeted, and how might it improve on the status quo process? Because that status quo is failing communities across the Berkshires, from Great Barrington where the modestly sized Brookside Bridge will take $50 million and an excruciating estimate of five years to fix, to Mount Washington where the cost to remove a deficient dam and replace it with a conservation area has increased by 900 percent largely due to excessive permitting costs.
And while we always welcome an official mention of West-East rail to maintain that moonshot’s momentum, we want to know more about what concrete steps are needed to get that initiative further down the track.
We’re always glad to see the governor make the cross-commonwealth trek to see up-close our county’s problems and promise, and on this visit she demonstrated why: For the first time in too long, a powerful voice in Boston got real about the cracks in our rural communities’ infrastructure. That’s a welcome and necessary first step on the road to healing them.