1 week Ago
SPRINGFIELD — The city is expected to pave 25 pothole pocked streets in multiple neighborhoods after receiving an at least 40% increase in state money for road and bridge repair. Typically the city receives $3.6 million from state assistance earmarked mostly for road paving, but this year officials are expecting that to increase to $5.
1 million, said Christopher Cignoli, Department of Public Works director. This year Gov. Maura T.
Healey proposed boosting the pool of money granted every year to cities and towns for road improvements from $200 to $300 million for the first time in years, The increase is expected to remain for five years. The city will also receive $807,384 in additional money from the state Fair Share Amendment, also known as the Millionaires’ Tax, that was adopted for 2023, he said. “We will now go out to bid for $5.
1 million of paving in the city that gets us about 25 streets,” Cignoli said. The plan is to go out to bid within the next few weeks and will begin paving in May or June as long as the bidding process for each street, he said. The money will cover repaving for all or part of four main roadways and 21 residential streets in different neighborhoods across the city.
Cignoli told the City Council on Monday the city keeps a report of the condition of the pavement on every street in the city and selects the streets to be improved through that. He urged councilors and residents who are concerned their streets are not making the list to compare them to the condition of the streets selected. “I would love to be doing $10 million, $11 million of work.
We just do not have the funds for it,” Cignoli said. City councilors also had questions about other issues. Sean Curran asked is any of the money could be used to simply repaint the rusted, graffiti-marked Plainfield Street Bridge, which he has petitioned the state to do as well.
For months, Curran has been pushing for repainting the bridge , saying it is an eyesore at an area that serves as the gateway to the city. But Cignoli said getting that work does is complicated since the state is preparing larger projects in the area. He promised to bring it up at future meetings with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
“Let’s not forget a good city has good roads,” City Councilor Victor Davila said. The four main roads that will see paving are King, Union and Locust streets and Pascoe Road. Part or all of the following residential streets are also included in the plan: Alsace, Benham, Clough, Gerald, Heywood, Home, Parkside, Orleans, Kay, Los Angeles, Kathleen and Gilman streets.
Also included in the list are Sunbrier, Martel, Old Lane and Fox Hill roads; Balfour, Westbrook and Sparrow drives and Wheeler and Burns avenues..
