Fred Salvucci, senior lecturer in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and former Secretary of Transportation for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, wrote an opinion piece published in the Boston Globe April 30 concerning the need to support the governor’s proposal to repair the state’s deteriorating bridges. “For too long, phrases like ‘no new taxes’ or ‘fix it first’ have served as substitutes for action,” Salvucci said in the op-ed. “This sugarcoating sounded nicer than the truth: passing a growing burden to the next generation and stunting economic growth in the state. Postponement of needed transit and roadwork projects has led to a backlog of $20 billion to $30 billion in projects necessary for economic growth and public safety. The practice of deliberately underfunding infrastructure investments, in the name of ‘balancing’ budgets, has been fiscally imprudent for four reasons.” The op-ed can be read in its entirety on the Boston Globe website.