The North Carolina Department of Transportation recently announced that it would provide more than $147.5 million to 508 municipalities.
Nearly $73.8 million was distributed Friday, and another $73.8 million will be distributed in December.
This year, 23 cities were awarded at least $1 million. The largest award, $20.5 million, was given to Charlotte. The city of 852,992 maintains 2,523 miles of road.
The next largest awards were $10.7 million to Raleigh, $7.3 million to Greensboro, $6.3 million to Winston-Salem and Durham, respectively, and $5.2 million to Fayetteville.
Funding is through State Street-Aid to Municipalities, also known as the Powell Bill fund, and is used primarily for resurfacing streets, but can be used for street construction, improvements, repairs, and maintenance and for the planning, construction and maintenance of sidewalks, bikeways, or greenways.
Municipal officials can be held liable for any unauthorized expenditures.
Municipalities must apply for funds, and funding is awarded based on a formula established by the state. A total of 75 percent of it is based on population, and 25 percent on the number of locally maintained street miles.
A total of $110.7 million was awarded this year based on population, and $36.8 million was based on street miles. This is the equivalent of $19.35 per person and $1,590.84 per mile.