Paving program funding falls to $102.91M; staff forecasts 102 lane-miles of treatments for the season

VTrans staff told the House Transportation Committee on Jan. 30 that the Paving Program’s FY26 appropriation is $102,910,000, a decrease of about $27.23 million from the prior year, and that the program funds preliminary engineering, right-of-way and construction phases.

“Pavement design unit are based on actual data from collection that takes place either yearly or every other year depending on the roadway,” Matt Bogaczek said, describing the program’s asset-driven decision-making and the “right treatment, right road, right time” principle. He said the FY26 funding supports construction of 46 paving projects and additional work on 34 projects; staff estimate 71 miles of interstate, state and class‑1 system paving plus 31 miles of mill-and-fill projects for a total of 102 miles of treatments in the construction season used for planning.

Bogaczek presented a Route 30 full‑depth reclamation project that remained within the existing right-of-way, included recycled pavement materials and added guardrail and a rebuilt sidewalk where construction required removal. Because an adjacent rock slope needed stabilization, staff said they could incorporate slope remediation into the paving contract, improving snow storage and keeping rockfall away from the road. The project also added a new crosswalk and bicycle infrastructure where conditions allowed.

Committee members asked how towns can influence paving projects’ scope to add pedestrian crossings, narrower lanes or bike lanes. Bogaczek described the evolving process for early engagement via new-project summaries and regional planning commissions (RPCs) as conduits for town input; later in design, towns receive plan reviews and can provide comments. He said some work can also proceed through local initiatives using an 11/11 permit to place low-cost traffic-calming or pedestrian devices in the state right-of-way (subject to permitting and review), and that a class 1 paving cycle—required by statute—resurfaces certain town highways on a set schedule, which provides another avenue for coordinated improvements.

Staff noted the Killington Stockbridge and Montpelier–Waterbury interstate projects as examples where scope refinements and deeper mill-and-fill choices increased project estimates. Committee members asked about maintaining temporary speed bumps and other local traffic-calming measures; staff said such measures can affect winter plowing and maintenance and would involve maintenance teams if deployed.

Bogaczek closed by reiterating that paving projects try to capture other asset needs within the contract where feasible, but that towns and RPCs should engage early to influence treatments and consider permitting options for locally initiated work.