The Massachusetts Department of Transportation recently issued $50 million to 45 local communities as part of its Municipal Pavement Program.
[Above image by MassDOT]
The agency said that program seeks to improve the condition of municipally owned state numbered routes, with an emphasis on National Highway System roadways, and to find opportunities to improve safety and accessibility for all modes.
Those local projects are selected by MassDOT each fiscal year based on pavement condition data, the proportion of state numbered routes in poor condition in a municipality, and geographic equity.
MassDOT said it works closely with selected communities to develop a scope of work for each roadway segment and all work is conducted by agency contractors in coordination with the municipality.
“By making this support available to municipalities, we will make our roads smoother and safer, particularly in 27 environmental justice communities and 22 rural communities,” noted Monica Tibbits-Nutt, MassDOT secretary and CEO, in a statement.
“Since the Municipal Pavement Program’s inception in 2021, MassDOT has funded $75 million in paving improvements for over 325 miles of roadways across the Commonwealth,” said added Jonathan Gulliver, MassDOT’s highway administrator. “We look forward to supporting our municipal partners throughout the planning and construction process as these projects progress.”
Various state departments of transportation across the country provide funding in a variety of ways to help support local infrastructure projects.
For example, in early October, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (R) awarded $3.1 million in state funding to cities and counties statewide to support various road and bridge projects; funding that comes from the Rebuild Alabama Act passed by the state legislature and signed by the governor in 2019.
The Rebuild Alabama Act required the Alabama Department of Transportation to establish an annual road funding grant program that sets aside a minimum of $10 million off the top of the state’s share of new fuel tax revenue for local projects.
Additionally, in September, the Florida Department of Transportation issued more than $122 million to small county governments and rural municipalities via its Small County Outreach Program and the Small County Resurfacing Assistance Program for the 2024-2025 fiscal year.
Of that $122 million total, the agency said one-third will go to rural communities impacted by Hurricane Idalia, which struck Florida in 2023, and Hurricane Debby, which affected several East Coast states in August.
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