With roads throughout Massachusetts suffering from the severe weather of this past winter, Governor Deval Patrick earlier this year authorized the state Department of Transportation (MassDOT) to allocate an additional $30 million to towns to help them repair the damage.
Approved in April, the money can be used to patch potholes, cracking, and other surface defects, including paving projects; repair or replace damaged signs, guardrails, storm grates, or road striping or painting; or other projects identified through written agreement with MassDOT.
Harvard’s share of the fund is $51,021. At their June 3 meeting, Harvard DPW Director Rich Nota told the selectmen he would use the money to do work on Ayer Road, between Route 2 and the Ayer town line. “We will be cutting and replacing sections of the roadway that have base and pavement failure,” he wrote the Press that week. “You may have seen some white markings on the pavement. These are the areas we propose to fix.”
Harvard’s contract with MassDOT required that the money be obligated to specific projects by the end of June and the projects and all related expenditures completed by September 30, 2014.
