PRESS RELEASE ‐ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jackie Jones at jjones@srpedd.org for more info.

SRPEDD Announces a 21‐day Public Comment Period and a Remote Public Meeting to hear comments on the SMMPO region’s list of transportation resilience projects to include in the Massachusetts Statewide Resilience Improvement Plan (RIP) and qualification for additional funding.

Flooding of the Wading River at Walker Street in Norton, Massachusetts (Photo by SRPEDD)

December 19, 2024 – Southeastern Massachusetts Metropolitan Planning Organization (SMMPO) staff recently concluded Phase 1 of a regional evacuation route mapping study that collected information from 27 Southeastern Massachusetts communities about local vulnerabilities, hazards, and existing evacuation protocols and resources relating to flooding, winter storms, wildfires, hazardous materials, and active threat events. The study will culminate in a Regional Evacuation Plan that will map regionally coordinated evacuation routes, document shared best practices and resources for the 27 communities, and recommend action steps to improve communication and egress in the event of an emergency. Phase 1 of the Evacuation Route Study identified various vulnerable locations, many of which are susceptible to flooding. SMMPO staff are seeking to include these 146 locations and potential projects in the MassDOT Resilience Improvement Plan (RIP) to qualify them for additional funding.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has released a round of Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-saving Transportation Program (PROTECT) grants. The purpose of this grant program is to support projects that improve the resilience of transportation infrastructure to withstand natural disasters and impacts of climate change, flooding, sea level rise, and extreme weather, and other natural disasters. The funding offers both planning and implementation grants to state, local and regional government bodies to focus on making roads, bridges, and transit systems more climate resistant. Grants can range from $100,000 to $5 million for planning projects and $5 million to $25,000,000 for implementation projects. Recipients are required to fund 20% of project costs, while FHWA funds 80%. However, including the project in a statewide resilience improvement plan reduces the local match requirement to 13% and eliminates the requirement to conduct an elaborate benefit-cost analysis. SMMPO staff are aiming to include 146 potential projects in the MassDOT statewide Resilience Improvement Plan to make this funding more accessible to local communities should they wish to apply.

This list was prepared using locations identified in the regional Evacuation Route Study, Regional Transportation Plan, a GIS vulnerability analysis, and review of communities’ Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Plans. It is being released to local officials and public review in order to gather feedback regarding if listed locations are appropriate and whether any are missing. Following the public comment period, locations will be voted on for approval by the SMMPO and later evaluated by MassDOT for final inclusion in the statewide RIP. SMMPO staff are available to assist with grant applications and encourage municipal officials to notify the agency if they plan to apply.

The SMMPO decides how to allocate about $26 million in federal funding for the region, which supplements state and local transportation infrastructure investments in Southeastern Massachusetts. The SMMPO conducts the federally required metropolitan transportation planning process for 27 Southeastern Massachusetts communities and is one of Massachusetts’ thirteen Metropolitan Planning Organizations.

A public meeting to hear comments on the SMMPO’s resilience projects list will be held remotely on Wednesday January 15, 2025 at 4:00 PM via Zoom. Everyone is welcome to attend, ask questions and offer feedback. This link https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/categories/200101697 provides the information to allow participants to connect to the meeting through a computer, smart phone or regular telephone. To register for the meeting visit: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_BKM4QXHwQD-Z-lJ7SChHhw

The list will become final on January 21, 2025, at the next SMMPO meeting. The draft list can be found on SRPEDD’s website at https://srpedd.org/transportation/srpedd-evacuation-route-plan/ for review. Link here: DRAFT SMMPO Transportation Resilience Projects List.

Comments and questions are encouraged and, if attendance at the above‐mentioned public meeting is not possible, may be offered by a variety of methods by January 20, 2025 including: 

Email Jackie Jones at jjones@srpedd.org or call 508-824-1367 x230;

Direct message or comment on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/SRPEDD; or

Direct message or Tweet to Twitter @SRPEDD_NEWS https://twitter.com/SRPEDD_NEWS?lang=en

The SMMPO, through SRPEDD, provides reasonable accommodations, including language assistance and/or auxiliary aids and services free of charge, upon request and as available. For accommodation or language assistance, please contact SRPEDD’s Title VI Coordinator by phone (508 824-1367), dial 711 to use MassRelay, or by email at aduarte@srpedd.org. Requests should be made as soon as possible prior to the meeting.

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