Increased Funding Means More Paving in Gardner – A Paving List from Gardner Mayor Michael Nicholson
Gardner Mayor Nicholson released the following statement on August 22, 2025: “The City of Gardner is pleased to announce that the following streets are set to be re-paved in 2025. (see provided graphic below)
Thanks to increased funding from the Commonwealth, Gardner was able to add additional streets to the list to be repaved. For Fiscal Year 2026, Gardner will receive $1,150,212.17 through the Commonwealth’s Chapter 90 program—more than double the $525,266.41 received in Fiscal Year 2025, marking a 119% increase.
In addition to Chapter 90 funds, the City secured multiple state grants to expand its infrastructure program: Municipal Paving Grant – covering the full cost of repaving Pearl Street. MassTrails Grant – funding the paving of Crystal Lake Drive. City Contribution – allocating $363,617 of municipal funds toward these projects.
Street selections are based on the City’s annual paving priority list, developed by the Department of Public Works and Engineering Department. Streets are evaluated on a range of factors, including overall condition, presence of sidewalks, number of residential and business properties, traffic volume, and the length of time since the last paving. Where sidewalks already exist, they will also be reconstructed alongside the roadway.
The City is currently working with its on-call paving contractor, Mass Broken Stone, to schedule these projects for the fall season, pending weather conditions.
“With this plan, we will have paved over one-third of Gardner’s roads in just the last five years,” said Mayor Michael Nicholson. “I’m proud of the investments we’ve made into our infrastructure and grateful to our state partners for helping us achieve this milestone. There is still more to do, and we are committed to pursuing every available resource to continue strengthening Gardner’s roadways and pedestrian infrastructure for the future.”
Streets on the list are Green, Beech, Cross, Pearl, Stephanie Drive, Heywood, Sylvan Road, James, Reservoir, Glazier, Highland, Crystal Lake Drive, Abbot Avenue, Chatham, Lakeview Drive, Plymouth, Ida Hill, and Elizabeth