Berkshire Communities Awarded FY25 Chapter 90 Funds

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BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey signed legislation at an event in Melrose which authorizes $200 million for fiscal year 2025 to fund bridge and road maintenance and other infrastructure projects in municipalities across the state under the Chapter 90 program In addition, the legislation will fund a total of $175 million more for six transportation infrastructure grant programs. 
 
The Chapter 90 program provides municipalities with an annual funding source for improvements to and investments in local transportation networks. Every municipality in the state is allocated a portion of total program dollars, which allows them to evaluate their unique transportation needs and goals and allocate funding dollars accordingly.  
 
In Berkshire County:
  • Adams: $284,946  
  • Becket: $233,920 
  • Cheshire: $195,993 
  • Clarksburg: $73,345  
  • Dalton: $214,429 
  • Egremont: $150,037  
  • Everett: $696,953 
  • Florida: $159,304 
  • Great Barrington: $400,670  
  • Hancock: $66,837 
  • Hinsdale: $152,640  
  • Lanesborough: $212,254 
  • Lee: $284,382  
  • Lenox: $274,945 
  • Monterey: $194,808 
  • New Ashford: $42,533  
  • New Marlborough: $337,028 
  • North Adams: $414,871  
Chapter 90 funding helps cities and towns compete for new levels of federal grant opportunities under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, as proof of available matching funds is generally required as a condition of applying for a federal award, and showing the availability of dedicated funds for this purpose dramatically strengthens applications to any such federal program. 
 
"We know that residents' quality of life and our state's economic strength depends on people being able to get where they need to go safely and on time," said Healey. "These Chapter 90 funds and millions more for six grant programs will help us deliver on critical road, bridge and infrastructure projects that communities and the traveling public need. We're proud to sign this bill into law today and grateful to the Legislature for their partnership." 
 
The funding will facilitate longstanding and newly identified projects and improvements, including bridge repairs and reconstruction; roadway, bike path, sidewalk, and curbing construction; accessibility improvements; milling and paving; and lighting and traffic signal improvements. 
 
In addition to the $200 million total in Chapter 90 funding, the Rural Roadway Funding program and six transportation infrastructure grant programs will each receive a total of $25 million: 
  • Municipal Pavement Program, which focuses on the improvement of municipally-owned state-number routes. Projects are selected based on pavement condition data, the proportion of state numbered routes in poor condition in a municipality, and geographic equity. 
  • Municipal Small Bridge Program, which provides financial assistance to cities and towns for small bridge replacement, preservation, and rehabilitation projects. To be eligible, bridges must be on a local public way and must be on the State Bridge Inventory with a span between 10 and 20 feet. 
  • Rural Roadway Funding Program, which distributes funds to all 351 municipalities using a formula based on local road mileage, municipal population, and rurality.  
  • Complete Streets Funding Program, which provides funding for municipalities to build infrastructure for "complete streets" projects that support travel for everyone whether they walk, bicycle, take public transportation, or drive. 
  • Municipal Bus Enhancement Program, which provides grant funding to build out infrastructure related to mass transit by bus. 
  • Mass Transit Access Grant Program, which provides grants for design and construction improvements to access commuter rail stations or other mass transit stations, such as parking lots, drop-off and pick-up zones, bicycle storage infrastructure, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure. 
  • Municipal/Regional Transit Authority (RTA) Electric Vehicle (EV) Grant Program, which provides grants to RTAs and municipalities for the purchase of electric vehicles and related charging equipment. 
The governor signed the bill in Melrose alongside Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, Administration and Finance Secretary Matthew Gorzkowicz, Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt, and Mayor Jennifer Grigoraitis.
 
 

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Adams Man Convicted in Murder of Stephanie Olivieri

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — An Adams man was found guilty in the 2019 murder of 32-year-old Stephanie Olivieri, a Pittsfield native and mother of two.
 
A jury found Tyler Sumner, 30, guilty on Friday of murder in the first degree and possession of ammunition without a Firearm Identification Card.
 
The trial was held in Berkshire Superior Court. Judge Francis Flannery will schedule sentencing.
 
"Today justice was served in the tragic death of an innocent bystander, Stephanie Olivieri; however, this guilty verdict will do nothing to bring her back," said Berkshire District Attorney Timothy Shugrue. "Tyler Sumner murdered Ms. Olivieri while she sat in a car filled with gifts and decorations for her child's birthday. She was preparing to celebrate a wonderful event when her life was ruthlessly cut short."
 
Olivieri, who had been living in Yonkers, N.Y., was found sitting in her running car on Columbus Avenue when police responded to reports of masked men near South John Street and heard gunshots on the way.
 
The officers found Olivieri gasping for breath and blood running down the right side of her head. She was treated by emergency medical services and then transported to Berkshire Medical Center, where she was later pronounced dead. The Chief Medical Examiner found the cause of her death to be a homicide caused by wounds sustained from a bullet to her head.
 
Multiple individuals testified that they believed Sumner was targeting an individual living in the area of the shooting and that Olivieri was not the intended target.
 
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