Program Overview - Winter Recovery Assistance Program (WRAP)

Provides cities and towns with funding to improve their transportation infrastructure in response to harsh winter weather.

Overview

The Winter Recovery Assistance Program, also known as WRAP, provides supplemental funding for cities and towns to improve their transportation networks in response to harsh winter weather. The program is administered by MassDOT. The Fiscal Year 2026 Fair Share Supplemental Bill funds the program at $100 million. $80 million is to be distributed via a formula of a municipality’s locally owned lane mileage and $20 million is to be distributed to communities facing extraordinary hardship from winter storms via an application process. The legislative language supporting the program is below. 

“for payments to municipalities to provide financial relief for extraordinary snow, ice and winter recovery costs incurred during the winter of 2026; provided, that funds may be expended for costs associated with: (i) snow clearing and plowing; (ii) roadway preparation and salting; (iii) icebreaking; (iv) flooding; (v) the reconstruction and resurfacing of roadways; (vi) the repair of damage from downed trees; and (vii) any unanticipated costs attributed to winter weather preparation or recovery; provided further, that not less than $80,000,000 shall be distributed using a formula based on each municipality’s share of road mileage; provided further, that $20,000,000 shall be made available as additional relief to municipalities, at the discretion of the secretary of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, that have experienced extraordinary costs due to extreme weather impacts relative to other geographic areas of the commonwealth during the winter of 2026; provided further, that funds may be used for costs previously incurred by the municipality prior to the distribution of funds in this item”

These funds are not available until the Fiscal Year 2026 Fair Share Supplemental Bill has been fully enacted into law. Details about program eligibility and operation are detailed in the sections below. 

Formula Funding Details

$80 million in WRAP funding is distributed via a formula based on each municipality's share of locally owned road mileage. No award letter noting municipal apportionments will be provided. Apportionments can be found online. Municipalities will also be notified of their WRAP funding allocation through Grant Central, MassDOT’s official grant management system.

Once available, WRAP formula funds will be added to the municipality’s existing Chapter 90 contract with MassDOT. No additional contractual paperwork is needed. In order to facilitate municipal spending, a WRAP “funding award” will be created on Grant Central for each municipality within the Chapter 90 Program. It is anticipated that the funding award will be available by early August 2026. All Grant Central account holders will receive email notification of this funding award. Once the funding award is available, municipalities may submit WRAP-eligible reimbursements against it following the instructions in the Requesting Reimbursement section below. No additional project approval is required. Reimbursement requests will be reviewed for eligibility before payment is made.

Municipalities must spend their WRAP formula funding allocation by June 30, 2027. Obligating funding towards a project does not count as spending.

Extraordinary Hardship Funding Details

This is a competitive, reimbursement-based application program open to all municipalities in the Commonwealth. Communities may submit one application only, to present their greatest local needs. There are no minimum or maximum funding limits, and applications can feature projects at single or multiple locations, covering either future work or already completed projects. Grants may be partially or fully funded depending on application volume. 

Selection Criteria

Evaluation is based on the criteria below:

• Level of precipitation experienced throughout the most recent snow season (October 2025-April 2026) compared to other applicants, based on nearest data point from NOAA stations or MassDOT depots
• Demonstration of how winter storms impacted project need
• Demonstration of financial hardship
• Functional Roadway Classification(s)
• Projects that include repairs to pedestrian, bike, or transit facilities
• Projects that can be implemented in 2 years
• Environmental Justice Community designation

Important Dates

Applications will be accepted through September 4, 2026. Applications will then be reviewed, and awards will be selected within four to six weeks afterwards. Grant funds will be made available shortly after that time.

How to Apply

The application is a simple online form. Submission requires a cost estimate to be attached to the application. Cost estimates should use the MassDOT Standard Template. The application can be accessed using the link below. 

• Winter Recovery Assistance Program (WRAP) Extraordinary Hardship Funding Grant Application
   

Eligible WRAP Costs

Below are the project types eligible for the use of all WRAP funds:

• Snow clearing and plowing
• Roadway preparation and salting
• Icebreaking
• Flooding
• The reconstruction and resurfacing of roadways
• The repair of damage from downed trees; and 
• Any unanticipated costs attributed to winter weather preparation or recovery

Overtime municipal payroll associated with the above items is eligible. Regular payroll is not eligible. Funds may be used for costs already incurred by the municipality in response to winter storm events. WRAP funding, a state funding source, is applicable to all federal, state, and local procurement and prequalification regulations and guidelines, just like Chapter 90 Program funding.

Requesting Reimbursement

WRAP is a reimbursement-based program, which means that municipalities are reimbursed for eligible expenses after costs are incurred. Reimbursement requests for WRAP formula funds must be submitted within the WRAP funding award created on Grant Central for each municipality. Requests are compiled and submitted in the same manner as Chapter 90 project reimbursement requests. Below are the following documents to be used in support of a WRAP reimbursement request.

• WRAP Reimbursement Request
• Payroll (600) Form (if necessary)
• List of Materials (454 Form) (545 Form)
• Required supporting documentation such as invoices from contractors

Once all necessary information has been provided, MassDOT will review for eligibility and process electronic payment to the municipality. Payments are provided to the same account used for Chapter 90 Program projects.

While the spending deadline for WRAP formula funds is June 30, 2027, reimbursement requests for WRAP formula expenses may be submitted through July 16, 2027. 

Program History

First operating in 2014 then again in 2015 and 2022, WRAP has proven to be successful in assisting communities with their transportation needs after facing difficult winter conditions.