Program Overview - Winter Recovery Assistance Program (WRAP)

Provides cities and towns with funding to improve their transportation networks in response to harsh winter weather. Funds must be spent by June 30, 2023.

Overview

The Winter Recovery Assistance Program, also known as WRAP, is a $100M program enacted for Fiscal Year 2023. The program is administered by MassDOT. WRAP provides supplemental funding for cities and towns to improve their transportation networks in response to harsh winter weather.

This is a reimbursement-based program, meaning that funds are provided to communities after project costs are incurred. Each municipality must enter into a contract with MassDOT for WRAP before work begins. No MassDOT project approval is necessary for the use of funding. However, funding must be used on eligible project expenses in order to be reimbursed by MassDOT. Specific items that are eligible for the use of WRAP funding are detailed below. Project reporting to MassDOT is required when requesting reimbursement. First operating in 2014 then again in 2015, WRAP has proven to be successful in assisting communities with their transportation needs after facing difficult winter conditions.

Funding Distribution

WRAP funding is distributed via a formula based on each municipality's share of locally owned road mileage. Municipalities were notified of their WRAP funding allocation through a letter from the Commonwealth. Apportionments can also be found online.

Monies for each specific city or town will be encumbered by MassDOT. This results in the monies being obligated on the Commonwealth's accounting system for the purpose of providing the reimbursement of bills paid by the cities and towns for WRAP projects.

Contracting Process and Spending Deadlines

Each municipality must enter into a contractual agreement with MassDOT for the use of WRAP funding before work begins. This funding program is separate and distinct from other MassDOT funding programs, including Chapter 90. To initiate the contracting process, email [e-mail] with the contact information (including email address) of your municipality's authorized signatory. All municipalities will be provided with the appropriate contract documents in order to get the funding agreement in place as soon as possible. No WRAP funded work may begin until July 1, 2022, provided that the municipality has provided MassDOT with the required contract documents.

Municipalities must spend their WRAP funding allocation by June 30, 2023. As such, all contracts will have an expiration date of June 30, 2023. Obligating funding towards a project does not count as spending. Actual costs for work conducted must be incurred between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023. Since this funding must be spent by the end of State Fiscal Year 2023 (June 30, 2023), no contract extensions will be provided. Any program funds left unspent by this date are no longer available for use.

Project Approval and Eligible Costs

After July 1, 2022, if the municipality has provided MassDOT with the required contract documents, no project requests or approvals are necessary from MassDOT before a municipality begins work utilizing WRAP funding. However, it is imperative that WRAP funding is used only on eligible items in order to ensure reimbursement of expenses. Eligible items are listed below.

Eligible WRAP Costs

• Rehabilitation, reconstruction, resurfacing or preservation of roadways and appurtenances (including sidewalks and bike lanes/paths)
• Repair or replacement of traffic control devices, signage, guardrails, and storm grates
• Road striping or painting

Police detail and traffic control costs are not eligible for reimbursement. Any costs that are not eligible for WRAP funding will not be reimbursed and shall be paid for by the municipality. WRAP funding, a state funding source, is applicable to all federal, state, and local procurement and prequalification regulations and guidelines, just like Chapter 90 funding, for example.

Requesting Reimbursement and Reporting

WRAP is a reimbursement-based program, which means that municipalities are reimbursed for eligible expenses after costs are incurred. In order to receive award funds, recipients must submit the following via email to their District State Aid Engineer after expenses are incurred. Up-to-date State Aid Engineer contact information can be found on the Chapter 90 website.

• WRAP Reimbursement Request
• Payroll (600) Form (if necessary)
• List of Materials (454 Form) (545 Form)
• Required supporting documentation

Before submitting a reimbursement request, the municipality must first complete the online WRAP Project Report Form. A link to the form is available on the WRAP Reimbursement Request. The form should take no more than ten minutes to complete and collects general project information. Reimbursement will not be provided if the form is not complete. This form helps MassDOT meet its legislatively mandated program reporting requirements.

Once all necessary information has been provided, MassDOT will process payment to the account set up specifically for this purpose. This reimbursement process is the same as that used for Chapter 90 and Complete Streets Funding Program projects. All WRAP reimbursement requests for costs incurred up to June 30, 2023 must be received by the respective MassDOT Highway Division District State Aid Engineer contact by July 15, 2023. Reimbursement requests must be clearly marked as Winter Recovery Assistance Program.

If the total amount of reimbursement requests submitted to MassDOT for WRAP is less than the total funds originally allocated, the remainder of this funding will be de-obligated and as a result, no longer available to the municipality. In the event that a city or town's contractor claims to be unavailable due to other work, said contractor will be allowed to sub-contract work related to WRAP. Cities and Towns will be reimbursed by September 30, 2023, for their expenditures pertaining to WRAP up to the specified allocated amount as per the letters sent from the Commonwealth in April 2022.