Wareham to receive $747,000 in state funds for road, bridge repairs

Apr 11, 2018

Wareham is scheduled to receive $747,619 in funding assistance for local road and bridge repairs under the state’s Chapter 90 program, an increase of $7,327 from last year, State Rep. Susan Williams Gifford (R-Wareham) announced.

The money was included in a $200 million bond authorization approved unanimously by the House of Representatives on April 5. The bond bill must still be approved by the Senate and signed by Governor Charlie Baker before the funding is finalized.

“I’m pleased the House has taken steps to ensure that communities will have additional financial resources available to maintain local road and bridges,” said Gifford. “While we know that our overall needs are far greater, the funding contained in this bond bill will help Wareham address some of its most pressing transportation infrastructure needs.”

The state’s Chapter 90 program was established in 1973, and allocates funding on an annual basis to cities and towns using a formula based on the weighted average of a municipality’s population, employment, and total road miles. The funds are paid out as reimbursements to communities for qualifying infrastructure work.

Chapter 90 funds can be spent on a variety of municipal roadway projects, including resurfacing, drainage, sidewalks, guardrails, traffic control, right-of-way acquisition and street lighting. The funding can also be used for bikeways, landscaping and tree planting associated with certain projects, and for purchasing and maintaining certain road building machinery, equipment and tools.