As Congress inches closer to a huge federal infrastructure bill, Vermont is making ambitious plans to overhaul roads, bridges, broadband, transportation, water systems and lots more.
“I can’t stress enough how significant this would be,” Gov. Phil Scott said at Tuesday’s press conference. “Not only would this make us more competitive, create good-paying jobs and help modernize our country, but it would also be a much-needed moral victory for a very polarized nation.”
The bill is inching through Congress, but Scott and other governors on a call with the White House on Tuesday emerged optimistic that the infrastructure money is close to approval.
The heads of Vermont agencies on transportation, energy and broadband, and natural resources delivered a rundown on what the infrastructure bill could mean to Vermont.
Transportation
Joe Flynn, the state transportation commissioner, said the tentative number is $109 billion to modernize bridges, highways, roads and primary streets that need crucial repairs.
Bridges: Vermont has more than 500 interstate bridges, nearly 2,000 state highway bridges and more than 3,000 town highway bridges, Flynn said. About 2% of interstate bridges, 4% of state bridges and 2% of town highway bridges are deemed “structurally deficient” — not unsafe, but needing work.
Roads: Vermont has 2,700 miles of interstate highways and major state highways, and the Vermont Agency of Transportation maintains more than 6,500 miles of paved road, Flynn said. “While 62% of these miles of pavement are in fairly good condition, approximately one-third are in poor condition or very poor condition,” he said. Vermont also needs to tend to 49,000 small culverts along the interstate and state highway system and 86,000 small culverts under town highways, and the federal money will help.
The priority list includes replacing buses to improve public transit, build on the successful micro-transit service in Montpelier and expand it to communities throughout Vermont. “We have 12 feasibility studies planned for this year,” Flynn said.
While Vermont celebrated the return of Amtrak rail service Monday, major improvements are needed to provide reliable and fast intercity train service and shipping, Flynn said. Airports, electrical vehicles and charging stations are also on the list.
Energy and broadband
The infrastructure bill’s proposed framework includes $65 billion for broadband and $70 billion for energy, said June Tierney, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Public Service.
The framework “acknowledges that broadband is infrastructure, meaning that it’s equivalent to something like a highway,” Tierney said. “Now, that is new — and therefore good news. It signals a very important step forward in federal policy and budget thinking around broadband. It shows that Washington is finally starting to get the message that broadband is a necessity, not a nice-to-have alternative to landline telephones or cable television.”
Vermont’s nine communications union districts “are already hard at work on building the many last-mile broadband roads we need to connect our 54,000 unserved or underserved addresses, meaning places that do not currently have access to service of 25/3 megabits per second, which is the current federal definition of high-speed broadband,” Tierney said. Vermont’s Legislature has earmarked $150 million of federal American Rescue Plan money for broadband and expects to add $100 million more ARPA dollars in the next two years.
However, it will take $1 billion to get truly high-speed 100/100 speeds to all Vermont addresses, she said. “As you can see, securing some part of the $67 billion for Vermont for broadband funding is highly desirable.”
And, a related goal is to reduce the price of high-speed broadband so it’s affordable for all Vermonters.
Tierney said the infrastructure bill will also plow billions into improving the national electric grid and adding renewable energy.
The environment
The infrastructure bill “is an incredible opportunity to rebuild aging systems in Vermont, including drinking water and wastewater; to remediate and redevelop brownfield properties and other contaminated sites; and address the challenges posed by climate change,” said Julie Moore, secretary of the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources.
In the next 10 years, the state estimates that Vermont will need to invest $2 billion in improving the state’s 92 existing sewage-treatment systems and more than 400 community drinking-water systems, Moore said, and stormwater management systems are needed to deal with harmful algae blooms that have been closing a number of Vermont swimming areas this month.
Also on the priority list: preparing for the coming effects of climate change, particularly extreme weather that can cause devastating damage.
