The legislature is considering a bill that would eliminate the possibility of rail expansion in NH – and we need your help!
House Bill 1432 would thwart the will of the overwhelming majority of New Hampshire citizens and squander a once-in-a-lifetime economic development opportunity for the state. It is an unnecessary, preemptive bill that isn’t ready for prime time. It presumes that the state should invest zero dollars in an infrastructure project before data is available to make an informed decision.
Let the NH Senate Transportation Committee know that they should VOTE NO on HB 1432. Email these committee members (Regina.Birdsell@leg.state.nh.us; Ruth.Ward@leg.state.nh.us; Denise.Ricciardi@leg.state.nh.us) or testify in person on April 19th at 1:30pm at the Legislative Office Building in Concord. Let the committee know that HB 1432 should be rejected.
As a reminder, the New Hampshire Department of Transportation’s work on an in-depth analysis for rail expansion is well underway – and the initial findings are promising. This is the blueprint that will give legislators hard data, including a financial model, engineering, and environmental analysis.
Rail expansion from Boston to Nashua and Manchester would generate more than 668,000 weekday riders resulting in the following substantial economic benefits:
- 5,600 permanent jobs
- 3,400 construction jobs to build the real estate development triggered by rail
- 1,700 new jobs every year beginning in 2030
- 3,600 residential units to support new workers
- 1.9 million square feet of commercial real estate as a by-product of rail expansion
- $750 million in real estate investment
- $220 million in reinvested worker earnings added to the economy
Thank you for your support!