The town of Smithfield, R.I., recently began the first project to utilize the Gov. Dan McKee’s RI Ready Municipal Road Fund Program.
The program will provide $20 million in matching funds to support bridge, road, and sidewalk projects on locally maintained city and town roads. It is designed to help communities that often struggle to set aside enough capital improvement funds to maintain their transportation infrastructure. The program contains accountability measures, and all projects must be completed by the end of 2026.
“We are proud to administer this program through RIDOT,” Rhode Island Department of Transportation Director Peter Alviti Jr. said an event to mark the start of the Smithfield project. “As of today – every single one of our 39 cities and towns has applied. Eighty percent of the roads in Rhode Island are maintained by our cities and towns. These are the roads that take us home, to school, to our local stores, to our kids’ games, to church and to mom’s house. They deserve the best of care and this program starts to make that possible.”
Smithfield will receive $433,161 to support 17 projects across 14 miles of road. The town will invest $879,463, bringing the total investment to $1.3 million.