Office of the Mayor

WOONSOCKET, RHODE ISLAND

Mayor Baldelli-Hunt Announces $421K RIDOT Award to "Pave Way" for Better City Roads

WOONSOCKET, R.I.: Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt announced today that the City of Woonsocket has been awarded a $420,737 funding opportunity from the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) Municipal Road and Bridge Fund Program (the Program). The Program requires the City to fund 67% of overall project costs, or $854,234, to receive a no-cost 33% state match of $420,737, equating to a total project investment of $1,274,971. The Mayor stated that she intends to fully participate in the Program, and will propose using ARPA funds to cover the City’s $854,234 portion of the Program requirement.

Mayor Baldelli-Hunt disclosed that she will focus Program funding on road repair across the City. She indicated that her administration is working to identify roads in most need of repair, and plans to quickly submit the Program application to RIDOT, so that some of the awarded funds can be used during the current paving season.

The Mayor stated, "We are thrilled to have been awarded such a significant amount from RIDOT’s Municipal Road and Bridge Fund Program to help us improve our City streets for the safety and enjoyment of motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians. I appreciate what Governor McKee, RIDOT Director, Peter Alviti, and RIDOT Project Manager, John-Paul Verducci have done in developing this forward-thinking program to help municipalities improve their transportation infrastructure."

The Mayor added, "From the start of my term in office, providing high quality roads has been an important part of our formula to build a stronger, happier and healthier community, and to attract new residents and businesses, to grow our local economy."

Public Works Director, Steven D’Agostino stated, "We want to maximize participation in this State award opportunity, and are identifying City streets in need of repair in our application, so that we can utilize as much of the award that we can for this season’s paving program."

D’Agostino disclosed that since 2014, 120 roads in the City have been repaved, 53 done in-house. "Paving roads with in-house crews allows us to do more roads for less money than using an outside contractor," said D’Agostino.