$25M in Rural Roadway Funding available to communities

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation has announced that $25 million for the Rural Roadway Funding Program has been apportioned and released to cities and towns.

The Rural Roadway Funding Program, established by a transportation bond bill in 2023, distributes supplemental aid to the Chapter 90 program based on a formula that favors rural communities, with apportionments based 20% on road miles, 20% on population, and 60% on whether a community is considered rural. Under the program, rural communities are defined as having a population of less than 10,000 and a population density of fewer than 500 people per square mile.

The fiscal 2025 transportation bond bill included a re-authorization of $25 million for the program. Although the MassDOT Capital Improvement Plan called for releasing the funding at $5 million per year over a period of five years, MassDOT has released the full $25 million to municipalities.

Apportionment announcements have been emailed to municipalities and funding has been added to each community’s Chapter 90 account balance. New apportionment figures are expected to be posted to the Rural Roadway Funding Program webpage.

The fiscal 2025 state budget included $45 million in additional supplemental funding for local road and bridge initiatives. This aid is funded through income surtax revenue that is required to be invested in transportation and education programs.