Representative Steven S. Howitt announces $100M in transportation infrastructure grants for cities and towns

Boston – State Representative Steven S. Howitt (R-Seekonk) is pleased to announce that the state is distributing $100 million in grant funding to assist cities and towns with their transportation infrastructure needs, which will provide Norton with $292,885, Rehoboth with $380,262, Seekonk with $316,577, and Swansea with $313,743 in funding assistance.

The latest round of funding supplements the annual Chapter 90 appropriation for municipalities, which was finalized by the House and Senate on July 27 and signed into law on August 3. That legislation provided Norton with $547,657.27, Rehoboth with $622,332.31, Seekonk with $588,178.26, and Swansea with $567,007.52 for road and bridge repairs in Fiscal Year 2024.

Representative Howitt noted that the new round of transportation infrastructure funding was authorized by the Legislature through a line item inserted into the Fiscal Year 2024 state budget, which was signed into law on August 9. The funding is being distributed using a two-prong formula, with $50 million being awarded using the traditional Chapter 90 formula, which factors in a community’s local road mileage (58.33%), population (20.83%) and employment (20.83%). The remaining $50 million will be distributed based on each community’s share of road mileage.

According to Representative Howitt, the following towns will receive funding based on their road mileage and the traditional Chapter 90 formula respectively:

• Rehoboth: $224,679 and $155,583 for a total apportionment of $380,262.
• Seekonk: $169,532 and $147,045 for a total apportionment of $316,577.
• Norton: $155,971 and $136,914 for a total apportionment of $292,885.
• Swansea: $171,991 and $141,752 for a total apportionment of $313,743.

Cities and towns can use the new grant funding to pay for a variety of construction, preservation, and improvement projects. This includes installing sidewalks, bicycle lanes, crossing signals, and other transportation infrastructure work.