Five hundred and forty-one cities and towns across the state will be receiving $161.25 million in municipal aid grants to advance road, bridge, safety and quality-of-life improvements, according to a Tuesday announcement from Gov. Phil Murphy and New Jersey Department of Transportation Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti.
The competitive Municipal Aid grant program attracted 625 applications from 547 different municipalities with a total of $363 million requested. In all, 546 awards to 541 municipalities will be granted.
“These funds are crucial to municipalities for the completion of projects that improve quality of life and safety for New Jersey residents,” Murphy said. “Under our administration’s leadership, the Transportation Trust Fund continues to bolster infrastructure statewide. I congratulate all municipalities that have received grants and look forward to them putting these dollars to use.”
The 2016 Transportation Trust Fund renewal has made it possible to continue to award $161.25 million annually — more than double the $78.75 million that was available before the TTF renewal. In addition, the extra funds have allowed the department to increase the number of municipalities receiving grants from about 370 a year prior to the TTF renewal to 541 municipalities this year.
“The Murphy administration is committed to improving local communities by providing millions of dollars in aid to municipalities to make important safety, infrastructure and quality-of-life improvements without burdening local property taxpayers,” Gutierrez-Scaccetti said. “We are pleased to award grants to nearly every municipality in New Jersey.”
Applications were submitted to NJDOT by July 1 and have been reviewed. There are seven project categories within the municipal aid grant program eligible for funding: roadway preservation, roadway safety, quality of life, mobility, bikeway, pedestrian safety and bridge preservation.
