State unveils plan to speed repairs for 250-300 bridges

BOSTON. Gov. Deval Patrick unveiled a bill yesterday to borrow nearly $3 billion to speed repairs for 250 to 300 “structurally deficient” bridges.

House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi and Senate President Therese Murray are also backing the eight-year plan, which virtually guarantees its passage in the House and Senate.

The bill is a scaled-down version of a plan detailed by Patrick last month that would have accelerated repairs to more than 400 bridges at a cost of $3.8 billion. The governor cited fiscal concerns for cutting his plan.

Patrick said the bill will also create thousands of engineering and construction jobs while saving the state an estimated $1.5 billion in avoided inflation and deferred maintenance costs.