MA: MVPC lands $1.2M grant for Route 110 project

The regional planning commission has been awarded nearly $1.2 million by the federal government for the early stages of a project to “reimagine” Route 110 in the area.

The funding, awarded to the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission, is part of a $45 million package courtesy of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration to help create safer pathways for transportation across and inside of communities around the country, according to a press release from the department.

The nonprofit commission will use the new funding for planning and design work on what the department called a 24-mile “transportation spine” in the upper portion of the Merrimack Valley that connects Methuen, Lawrence, Haverhill, Merrimac and Amesbury.

“Through the Active Transportation Infrastructure Investment Program, communities across the country are making safe and accessible active transportation options a reality,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. “With the grants announced today—made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—towns and cities in more than a dozen states will have funding in place to plan or construct infrastructure that allows people to safely walk, bike, and roll to schools, medical centers, jobs and other destinations.”

Patrick Reed, transportation manager at the planning commission, said the funding would be used for planning and community engagement in a broad effort to make the Route 110 corridor safer and more desirable to use. Reed said the plan was to identify how to make the road safer for walkers, bicyclists and other forms of transportation. He also highlighted the scope of the project given the corridor’s 24-mile length running through multiple communities.

“Each place has its own character,” he said.

Reed said more information on project would be available in the coming days.

Transportation corridors serve as backbones to connect communities in a region or state, according to the press release. The funding can also be used on projects to help connect schools, workplaces, transit stations and other destinations inside of a community.

“The grants we’re announcing today will expand connectivity in cities and towns large and small by removing obstacles to pedestrian and bicycle networks, especially in disadvantaged communities and areas where people rely on public transportation,” Acting Federal Highway Deputy Administrator Gloria M. Shepherd, said. Based in Haverhill, the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission serves the entire region.

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