WESTFIELD – The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) will hold a public meeting tonight at 6 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chamber to present its 5 year Capital Investment Plan (CIP) for fiscal years 2017 – 2021. This multi-billion dollar program makes long-term, multi-modal investments across the Commonwealth and covers all MassDOT highway and municipal projects, regional airports, rail and transit, including MBTA and Regional Transit Authorities as well as the Registry of Motor Vehicles.
In its announcement, the agency states that in the past, transportation capital plans consisted almost entirely of long lists of funded projects, with little strategic context and even less demonstrable evidence that the investments chosen out of thousands of possible projects would best accomplish the overall goals of the agency and of the Commonwealth.
They said this CIP is different as it’s being formed by a strategic vision, influenced by public and stakeholder input sought from the beginning of the process, built around funding programs, and has projects selected based on an objective and comparative evaluation
Because this CIP is the first capital plan produced for all of the MassDOT agencies, including the MBTA, all programs and projects were selected to shape a single vision of an improved transportation system. For the development of this CIP, all possible capital investments were considered together, and funding programs were developed and sized taking all capital needs into account.
The plan, which is in draft form, may be reviewed at: http://www.massdot.state.ma.us
Some of the Westfield projects included in the plan, listed on page 88, include Columbia Greenway Rail Trail construction. Also included are improvements on Route 20, Court Street & Western Avenue, Lloyds Hill to High Street, Mill Street intersection. Also listed are reconstruction of Route 187 (Little River Road) & Shaker Road and Route 20 access improvements from Llewellyn Drive to Lloyds Hill Road.
