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EVERY DAY, we hear of federally funded projects being terminated as part of a troubling pivot away from equity and logic. The so-called One Big Beautiful Bill is potentially estimated to rescind over $4.7 billion in competitive grants for transportation alone – including $327 million from a grant to the Allston Multimodal Project to rework a section of the Massachusetts Turnpike. Climate and transportation sector projects are distinctly vulnerable to these terminations and funding pauses, something that brings a worrisome outlook for the future.  

Transportation contributes to almost 40 percent of emissions in Massachusetts, which highlights its interconnectedness to the climate and, ultimately, to public health. To fulfill Massachusetts’s ambitious goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, we must ensure that we spend every federal dollar we do have to move the state in a cleaner, more equitable direction.  

A new, interactive tool and analysis shows Massachusetts, compared to other states, largely making progress in spending federal transportation dollars on the right things. Using data from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, this analysis demonstrates that Massachusetts is on track, compared to baseline emissions levels before the 2021 legislation, to reduce over 2.5 million tonnes of CO2 emissions between 2022 and 2040. This is thanks to smart investments in public transit – buses and passenger rail, electrification, and active transportation modes like pedestrian, street, and bike safety infrastructure.  

This is terrific news. But in an era where the current federal government is working against climate action at every step, we need to take a deeper dive and see what more we can do.  

The analysis shows that Massachusetts could potentially reduce an additional 500,000 tonnes of emissions by 2040, and save $250 million, if roadway capacity expansion project funding is dedicated to mobility options that have emissions reducing co-benefits. 

Take Springfield, a city with among the highest rates of asthma in the country. A look at the kind of projects funded there by Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act money shows that the biggest funding – $30 million – went toward interstate highway maintenance, outpacing funding for active transportation 10 times over. 

Now is the moment to take careful stock of how we’ve spent federal funds and where we should invest going forward. The magnitude of the impact of clawed-back funds is unnerving, and, as a state, we need to look at more pragmatic ways of dealing with this imminent reality. Here are some areas where strategic thinking and decision-making could make a difference. 

  • The Infrastructure and Jobs Act is set for reauthorization next year, a process that will determine how much transportation money will be carved out for transportation, and how and where those monies are going to be spent. This is a real opportunity to influence priority-setting by making sure that there is emphasis on public transit, rural transportation, and multi-modal transportation systems that have clear health and climate co-benefits. 
  • The unmistakable correlation between transportation and climate should be reflected in how we plan and spend for our transportation networks. Measures like the Freedom to Move bill will do this by championing more public transit opportunities and providing multi-modal options for travel, rather than expanding and over-relying on traditional road infrastructure. It does so by making our dollars work better for our needs and our climate, offering a more thoughtful way of embedding climate and transportation justice considerations into the transportation project planning process. This ensures that transportation dollars are not spent on initiatives that degrade air quality and instead have emission-reduction benefits that ultimately help improve health outcomes and give us all more options for how to get around.  
  • Finally, we must ensure we have enough state revenue to go around to make any of this possible. Our Funding Our Future report offered concrete solutions for more sustainable funding sources, and yet only short-term measures have been taken. The MBTA is the only major transit agency in the country that does not have a designated source for capital expenditure, and Western and Central Massachusetts yearn for more direct connection to Boston. While Fair Share dollars from the new levy on income over $1 million have saved the day, its surplus is set to taper as collection estimates and expenditure caps become more accurate over the next couple of years. 

Although the federal funding landscape is far more uncertain than when the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was passed, the Commonwealth is equipped with ways to overcome these challenges – starting by taking a clear-eyed view of what we’ve spent so far where, and how we can invest in choices that bring us cleaner air, more equitable and reliable ways to get around, and a climate resilient future.   

Reggie Ramos is executive director of Transportation for Massachusetts.