North Adams, Cheshire Awarded Infrastructure Grants

08:16AM / Friday, October 30, 2026Print Story | Email Story

BOSTON — The Healey-Driscoll administration announced nearly $1.5 million in grant awards to advance local infrastructure projects and help Massachusetts communities compete for federal funding.

Grants were awarded to transportation, clean energy and resilience projects in 30 communities across the state. Eighteen awards were made to rural communities, four to Gateway Cities and one to the tribal community of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah).

In Berkshire County, Cheshire was awarded $57,600 for the town to create a new accessible restroom at the Cheshire Community House, where the town offices and assembly space are located, by applying for a federally funded Community Block Development Grant.

North Adams was awarded $25,000 for the city to update its Hazard Mitigation Plan.

The awards were made via the Municipal and Tribal Technical Assistance (MTTA) program, administered by the Federal Funds and Infrastructure Office (FFIO). The program supports technical assistance activities for projects that are seeking or have received federal funds.

"These awards will not only help cities, towns and tribes deliver key projects and plan for future needs, they will also allow more communities to compete for federal dollars," Gov. Maura Healey said. "Our administration has made it a priority to pursue every federal dollar available, and these grants will enable more communities to do so."

The MTTA program was enabled by legislation filed by Healey, Chapter 214 of the Acts of 2024 ("An Act to Provide for Competitiveness and Infrastructure Investment in Massachusetts"), to support infrastructure projects in cities and towns across the state. Healey filed the legislation as part of a comprehensive strategy to increase Massachusetts’ competitiveness for federal funding and empower local governments with more resources to advance infrastructure projects.

This is the fourth round of Municipal and Tribal Technical Assistance awards made by the FFIO, which has, in total, awarded $4,364,687 in MTTA grants to communities across Massachusetts.

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North Adams Water Line Break Shuts Off Service on Ashland; McCann Dismisses Classes Early

Staff Reports iBerkshires
10:52AM / Friday, October 30, 2026

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A water main that broke Friday morning has affected water service south of Main Street along Ashland and Church streets and caused McCann Technical School to close early.

The break occurred shortly before 9 a.m. near the Roots Teen Center; Ashland Street between Summer Street and American Legion Drive was closed to traffic to allow crews to work on repairs.

"The way it was coming out, we were hoping it was a sprinkler line for the old Nassif's, but there's no sprinkler line in there, so it's a main line," said Commissioner of Public Services Timothy Lescarbeau. "We're trying to get it isolated. Once we get isolated, everything's coming back."

This break is causing areas of the city to have little to no water pressure.

McCann Technical posted that its Tea Room would be closed and then announced early dismissal for 11:15 a.m. Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts has cancelled all classes.

The Water Department was opening connections around the affected area to close off the gates and redirect the flow until the line could be repaired. Water was flowing out of a hydrant past the post office and streaming down American Legion Drive.

American Legion Drive is open but the work crews are now in the intersection of Ashland and Summer Street and traffic will be disrupted. The city is asking that motorists and pedestrians avoid the affected area whenever possible "to allow our crews to work safely and efficiently."

For questions or concerns, contact the Water Department at 413-662-3157. In the event of an emergency, contact the Dispatch Center at 413-664-4944, Ext. 1.

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