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Route 116 Repaving Tops State Stimulus Spending ListStaff reports
iBerkshires
11:21PM / Sunday, March 15, 2009
ADAMS, Mass. — Road work on Route 116 (Orchard Street) is first on the list of "shovel-ready" transportation projects to receive stimulus funding.
The list of eight state projects to receive stimulus funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was released Friday and were advertised for bid Saturday. The initial projects span from the Berkshires to Cape Cod and represent an estimated total value of approximately $30 million.
Massachusetts has received the authority from the federal government to spend a total of $437.9 million on highway projects under the stimulus bill. Approximately $153.2 million will be committed to "shovel-ready" projects advertised for bid within the next 120 days, including these eight projects. The state has to meet the 120-day "use-it-or-lose-it" federal deadline.
"These initial shovel-ready projects address the important basic road maintenance needs that were identified by our partners at the federal, state, regional, and local level," said Transportation Secretary James Aloisi Jr. "We will put people to work making our roads safer this spring, and we are just getting started."
 The Adams work is not new; the 1.5-mile project was initiated in 2001 and permits were issued last year. Work was expected to begin last spring to repair a water main break along the highway.
MassHighway will resurface the section from the Adams/Cheshire town line to just north of Commonwealth Avenue, "address some minor drainage issues" and replace sidewalks to conform with the Americans with Disabilities Act. According to MassHigway's Web site, a 300-foot-long retaining wall at the north end of the project will be replaced.
The first eight projects to be advertised represent road resurfacing and traffic sign replacement in each of the five MassHighway regional districts. The others are:
■ Bourne: Resurfacing on Route 6 (Scenic Highway) from Nightingale Pond Road to Bourndale Road.
■ Bridgewater-Middleborough: Resurfacing Route 18 & Route 28 from Bridgewater Center to Middleborough Rotary
■ Gill-Erving-Orange-Wendell: Resurfacing of 3.6 miles on Route 2
■ Harvard-Littleton: Resurfacing of 4.4 miles on Route 2
■ Lexington-Reading: Route 128 (I-95), Traffic and guide sign replacement
■ Swansea: Resurfacing Route 6 from Somerset town line to Rehoboth town line
■ Westport: Resurfacing of 4.6 miles on Route 6
 Federal recovery transportation projects are selected from the State Transportation Improvement Plan, which is comprised of projects submitted by the state's 13 Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO) following a collaborative public review process including the public and dozens of state, regional, and local officials.
Federal officials have also announced an additional $319 million in recovery funds for transit projects at the Regional Transit Authorities and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority — $159.9 million of which must be committed to "shovel-ready" projects within the next 180 days.
To view the list and descriptions of the first eight projects to be advertised along with more information about federal transportation recovery funding visit Massachusetts Recovery and Reinvestment Plan. |
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