MassDOT unveils new criteria for transportation projects

Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) Secretary and Chief Executive Officer Stephanie Pollack last week unveiled new recommendations for the evaluation and prioritization of proposed capital projects.

The recommendations were submitted to MassDOT by an independent Project Selection Advisory Council that spent 18 months developing a new selection process for transportation investments, MassDOT officials said in a press release.

"This new prioritization system will help us to make important decisions about our capital resources in a way that is smarter and more transparent," Pollack said.

The process is aimed at ensuring that transportation dollars are spent in a multimodal and strategic manner, and are evenly distributed across regions in the state, MassDOT officials said.

The recommended evaluation applies to modernization projects, which replace and rehabilitate existing transportation assets, as well as capacity projects, which add new transportation capacity or expand existing connections.

Projects will be ranked using a weighted formula that takes into account cost, economic and environmental impacts.