Taunton DPW outlines $17.2M recent investment and previews $7.2M roads CIP for 2025

The Taunton Department of Public Works presented a road and sidewalk recap to the municipal council, highlighting multi‑year investments and a preview of the 2025 capital improvement program. DPW leaders told councilors that Mayor O’Connell and council support allowed roughly $17.2 million in capital investments over recent years and about $10.2 million invested in sidewalks over five years.

DPW described the pavement management program, the city's use of resident service requests (SeeClickFix) and a road surface rating survey to prioritize work. Officials said Taunton has 207 Chapter 90‑accepted streets and has completed work on about 20% of those using available funding. The DPW described coordination with utilities (TMLP, Verizon, Comcast, Eversource) and said an infrastructure meeting with utilities is scheduled in late winter to avoid conflicts in spring construction.

The DPW previewed a proposed $7.2 million roads CIP for the coming year that will be phased across projects rather than executed with a single large procurement. Councilors asked about Tremont Street timing, which DPW estimated as multi‑year (roughly five to eight years) due to required utility replacements and MassDOT coordination; they also discussed granular costs such as granite curb installation and police detail expenses. DPW said police and civilian traffic controllers are used to keep projects on schedule, and that ADA ramp and sidewalk compliance work remains an ongoing priority with some grant applications pending.

Next steps: the mayor will present the fiscal year 2025–2029 CIP to council on Jan. 21; DPW will return with more project‑level timelines and utility coordination plans.