LYNNFIELD — House Minority Leader Bradley Jones Jr. (R-North Reading) and state Sen. Brendan Crighton (D-Lynn) supported a supplemental spending bill that will provide the Town of Lynnfield with $228,681 in additional state-funded road assistance.
Lynnfield is slated to receive the money as part of a $100 million Winter Recovery Assistance Program (WRAP) initiative included in House Bill 4578.
Department of Public Works Director John Tomasz said the pothole damage on Lynnfield’s streets is unprecedented. He said the WRAP funding will allow the town to completely repave some of the most damaged roadways. He expects road work will begin in early May.
“It’s the worst ever and it’s every place, not just here in Lynnfield,” he said. “Some of our major, most-heavily trafficked streets have been completely destroyed, so this money will allow us to improve streets that have been patched over and over only to need repair again.
Administered by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, the WRAP money can be used for projects such as reconstructing, resurfacing, and striping roads, as well as for repairing or replacing traffic lights, signage, guardrails and storm grates.
“The winter weather has taken a heavy toll on our local roadways, creating potholes and other hazardous driving conditions,” said Jones. “By making state funding available through the WRAP program, Lynnfield will have greater financial flexibility to address these problems without having to tie up limited municipal resources that can now be directed to other local priorities.”
“Quality roads are essential for safety, as well as the local economy,” said Crighton. “Our region’s winter weather can be extremely tough on our roads, so it is great that we were able to get this funding included as part of the supplementary budget.”
The House of Representatives has approved a $350 million bond bill to help maintain municipal roads and bridges under the state’s Chapter 90 program and to provide additional funding for several transportation-related grant programs, including the Municipal Small Bridge and Complete Streets programs. That bill, House Bill 4638, is now before the Senate, which is expected to act on it soon.
Although Chapter 90 funding is allocated using a formula that calculates the weighted average of a community’s local road mileage, population and employment, the WRAP funding is being distributed to communities using a formula based strictly on local road miles.
The bill was part of a fiscal year 2022 supplemental budget that was initially approved by the House on March 9 and the Senate on March 24. A final version of the bill was enacted in both branches on March 31 and signed into law by Gov. Charlie Baker on April 1.
