MANCHESTER, N.H. – On Tuesday, Congressman Chris Pappas (D-NH) announced that funding for the Capital Corridor Project could be coming soon thanks to an infrastructure package approved by the U.S. House of Representatives last week.
In a zoom conference with Congresswoman Annie Kuster (D-NH), Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig, Nashua Mayor Jim Donchess and NHDOT Commissioner Victoria Sheehan, Pappas provided details on The Moving America Forward Act, a bill that Pappas helped develop as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
If the bill is passed by the Senate and signed by the president, will provide New Hampshire with over $1.3 billion in funding for New Hampshire’s infrastructure.
In addition to the New Starts grant funding included in the bill, one of the key sources of federal funding for mass transit projects, the final version also included critical provisions from Kuster’s Invest in American Railroads Act to facilitate commuter rail expansion into southern and central New Hampshire.
“We increased funding for New Starts, which is the main source of funding for new commuter rail projects, and we also lowered financing costs for these projects,” said Pappas. “Granite Staters overwhelmingly support expanding passenger rail from Manchester to Boston, and the provisions we secured in the Moving Forward Act can help make it a reality.”
Craig praised Pappas and added that the City of Manchester is seeking BUILD Grant funding to also help bring commuter rail to Manchester’s Millyard.
In addition to transportation funding, the bill also will allow New Hampshire to grandfather its method of numbering highway exits, provide funding to clean PFAS from New Hampshire’s water supply, provide high-speed internet investment to underserved communities and re-evaluates federal funding structures to help smaller states like New Hampshire.