The Massachusetts Port Authority Board of Directors unanimously authorized a three-year $1.3 billion spending plan Thursday that invests about $300 million into new tasks like roadway optimizations, runway rehabilitation and net-zero carbon emission initiatives.
While a majority of the capital funding plan focuses on ongoing or accomplished tasks, the brand new spending that Massport intends to hold out comes as passenger volumes for Logan International Airport and cargo passthrough at Boston’s Conley Container Terminal are trending upward in comparison with final yr however nonetheless stay under pre-pandemic ranges.
Three-quarters of latest spending over the following three years will head to aviation and restore tasks, with $51 million slated for structural enhancements to the higher roadway at Logan’s Terminal B. At the Conley Container Terminal, the quasi-public company plans to spend $5 million and use one other $20 million in federal grants to create further container storage capability.
Massport Capital Programs and Environmental Affairs Director Luciana Burdi mentioned Logan takes up a predominant portion of the capital funding plan with about $1 billion heading towards the airport.
Oftentimes, Burdi mentioned, capital funding plans allocate extra money to the primary yr quite than the later ones. But this plan, she mentioned, evenly distributes funding throughout all three years “which highlights the health of our financial organization.”
The three airports Massport oversees — Logan Airport, Worcester Regional Airport, and Hanscom Field — are all in line for runway upkeep and enhancements.
At Worcester Regional, a undertaking to rehabilitate Runway 29 will value $18 million whereas one other $7 million shall be used over the following three fiscal years to rehab Runway 5-23 at Hanscom. Safety enhancements and upkeep for Logan Airport’s 15R-33L runway will value $40 million.
“We have an extensive airfield program coming in these next three years,” Burdi mentioned. “All these three projects are really happening in the spring and summer of 2023.”
The funding plan additionally requires $16 million to buy eight enhanced electrical buses to be used on the MBTA’s Silver Line. Burdi mentioned the buses will produce zero emissions whereas working on the Logan Airport campus.
“We’re working with the MBTA to make sure that those buses meet the technical requirements in terms of racks for luggage and facilitate the experience that we’re looking for our passengers,” Burdi mentioned.
— Chris Van Buskirk / SHNS
Source: www.bostonherald.com”