The Commonwealth of Massachusetts' FY2026 Budget Process for ACEC/MA Members

Transportation Highlights in Governor's FY2026 budget recommendation

Budget Brief: Transportation in the Commonwealth 

House 1 dedicates $765 million in Fair Share revenue to the Commonwealth Transportation Fund (CTF) to leverage $5 billion in borrowing over the next 10 years for capital, while also making impactful investments in annual operations. These funds will be appropriated to support transportation investments including $500 million to stabilizing the MBTA’s operations, more than doubling support from last year. It also maintains key initiatives such as the Income-Eligible Fare Relief program, the MBTA Academy, grants to support fare-free programs at Regional Transit Authorities and RTA connectivity.

The borrowing unlocked by utilizing the CTF, along with surplus Fair Share and other resources, will enable the state to invest $8 billion in transportation over the next 10 years, including $1.5 billion ($300 million per year) over five years for Ch. 90 reform, $1.5 billion for road and bridge repair, and $850 million for the MBTA to support maintenance facilities modernization and power system resilience.

In the Governor’s FY2026 Budget, the MassDOT budget includes:

• $1.5 billion over five years for Chapter 90 reform (including rural roads and culverts)
• $1.5 billion for Road and Bridge Lifecycle Asset Management Program to address pavement and bridge condition
• $617 million for MassDOT operations, including $55 million from Fair Share revenues. 
• $204 million for continued investments in regional transit authorities (RTAs) sustain prior year funding levels and maintain fare equity and service needs, bolstered by $110 million of Fair Share resources
  • These RTAs help to create better connectivity for supporting rural, suburban and urban communities as well as the state’s most vulnerable who rely on paratransit to get to work, home or school.
  • This further supports the following:
    • $66 million for additional State Contract Assistance for RTAs to support enhancements and improvements including expanded service areas, weekend services and route expansions.
    • $30 million for fare free RTA services
    • $10 million for connectivity projects including 10 projects over 9 RTAs that will receive funding to create or alter key routes so residents can have a better travel experience and connectivity.
    • $4 million for the Community Transit Grant Program to expand mobility options, which impacts transportation options for older adults, people with disabilities and low-income families and individuals.
• $100 million for debt service for the Commonwealth Transportation Fund (CTF). This financing commitment will have the capacity to unlock over $5 billion of additional funds for transportation over the next decade.
• $67 million for the Income-Eligible Reduced Fare program
• $25 million for a Winter Resilience Assistance Program to aid all 351 cities and towns to prepare for storms and weather impacts
• $25 million for RTA workforce initiatives (including hiring and retention costs, CDL licensing, training, CBA increases and related programs.)
• $17.5 million for MassDOT workforce and project delivery reserve to enhance the workforce, hiring, retention and skills development of the teams delivering major infrastructure projects
  • Will increase staffing levels to enhance MassDOT’s capacity to deliver capital project and division projects. These include the following:
    • Management of the Capital Program featuring West-East Rail (Rail & Transit), Cape Bridges (Megaproject Delivery), and various bridge and highway projects
    • Support MassDOT operations in helping to provide technical assistance, highway maintenance and performing repairs and resilience improvements as stated in our Beyond Mobility Plan
    • RMV support in developing key programs that help build professional development for current and future staff
  • These key roles are crucial in helping MassDOT to ensure we are executing projects on budget and on schedule in an efficient and efficacious way.
• $10 million for Microtransit and Last Mile Innovation Grants to expand mobility options
• Impact the Bridge and Pavement Lifecycle Asset Management Program (LAMP), which will be used by MassDOT to reduce the number of bridges and amount of pavement in poor condition. 
• Allston Multimodal Project
  • $615 million for the Allston I-90 megaproject funding will come from CTF to match major federal discretionary grants and contributions from the City of Boston, Harvard University, and Boston University for this transformative multimodal project.
  • The project is important for the expansion for West-East Rail, more reliable commuter rail service to Worcester and throughout the South Side of Commuter Rail system as well as other mode shift connections.
• Culverts & Small Bridges Statewide Strategy
  • Over 25,000 culverts and small bridges exist statewide. The definition of a culvert is a stream or river crossing <20’ span.
  • 17,000 are locally owned or owned by various state agencies outside of the Mass Highway system.
  • These funds will be used to upgrade, repair and replace vulnerable culverts and small bridges owned by state agencies and municipalities.
  • Currently many of these culverts and bridges are beyond useful life, design capacity and are vulnerable to climate change.
  • These changes will help to ensure that residents can safely travel with ease as transportation resilience, public safety and preparedness have been addressed.
• Safety and Congestion Hotspots
  • This funding will allow MassDOT to respond to pain points and critical issues with flexible funds that address safety and ease congestion in hotspots across the state.
  • Funding will be applied to any mode; bike, pedestrian, road, rail or an intersection or location where safety or congestion issues are critical.

Governor Healey and Lieutenant Governor Driscoll File $59.6 Billion Fiscal Year 2026 Budget

This budget is filed as House 1.

Governor's Budget Recommendation Page:  https://budget.digital.mass.gov/govbudget/fy26/

Budget Briefs by subject area:  https://budget.digital.mass.gov/govbudget/fy26/budget-briefs/

Press Release on Budget:  https://www.mass.gov/news/governor-healey-and-lieutenant-governor-driscoll-file-596-billion-fiscal-year-2026-budget

Governor Healey Gets Ready to File FY2026 Budget Proposal

Governor Healey is filing her Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) budget proposal on January 22. I will add the link to the budget page when it is posted. The filing of the Governor's budget comes during a period of slowing revenue growth in Massachusetts.  The FY26 budget will be based on a revenue forecast of $43.614 billion, which represents a 2.2% increase over the revised estimate for FY25. 

Once the Governor's budget is filed, legislators will formally begin the process of determining spending priorities. The House will begin budget debate in April and Senate debate will follow in May.

Massachusetts FY26 Consensus Revenue Hearing Held December 2