By Marcia Parnell
There’s been some good news on the road maintenance front since we reported in November 2024 that Becket’s application for a $1 million MassWorks Infrastructure grant and another $1 million grant for small-town roads had been denied by the State. Town Administrator Kathe Warden reports that the Town will receive a $114k Rural Road allocation (identical to the 2024 allocation) and that a second round of review has resulted in approval of a $65k Division of Ecological Restoration (DER) small-bridge grant to partially fund the engineering and permitting costs for the Benton Hill bridge project. Those upfront costs are expected to total nearly $140k. Warden hopes to secure a $20k grant from the Wild and Scenic Westfield River Committee and anticipates funding the $55k balance from Chapter 90 funds already on hand. An estimate on the actual construction costs cannot be determined until the initial work is completed. Still pending is word on funding from the State’s Fair Share grant program from which Becket received $152k for FY 2024.
As for County and Leonhardt Roads, Warden and Town officials have had some discussions about the possibility of the Town issuing a bond to fund County Road—most likely as one large project as opposed to the two-part initiative originally envisioned using grant funds—but no definitive plan has been solidified. For Leonhardt Road Warden plans to reapply for a small-town roads grant next year. All of the engineering work and permitting approvals are now in place. Since feedback she’s received is that the State’s focus is on funding truly “shovel-ready” initiatives, Warden believes the timing may be more favorable. Yet she acknowledges that because road costs have increased so significantly over the last several years, “towns are finding that their dollars don’t go as far as they used to, and so everyone is looking for grant help from the State.”
