HATFIELD — Washouts, mud and a surface that washboards, with parts so rough that drivers will choose to travel on the grass at the edge rather than on the dirt, often affect the gravel section of Straits Road.

The main cause of these problems is evident to Highway Superintendent Duane Meehan, who points to a sub-base made up of silt and sand, materials that are not stable, and which cause even truck loads of gravel, used to maintain the road, to be swallowed up each year.

Sometime in 2027, those long-standing issues will be fixed, as stone is added to the existing base, a dense-grade top is placed on the road and six leaching basins are installed, all part of a $670,440 grant awarded to Hatfield from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s inaugural Unpaved Roads Program.

In total, the program is awarding $11.26 million through 48 grants that will cover the costs of design, construction and equipment for gravel and dirt roads across the state.

“This grant opportunity will allow us to fix the road, and it should last for a very long time to come,” said Select Board Chairman Luke Longstreeth, who joined town and state officials at an announcement ceremony Tuesday afternoon.

The ceremony was held under a tent a few yards away from the road, and next to rows of the vines at Black Birch Vineyard, one of the prominent agricultural enterprises along the stretch of Straits Road.

“This should reduce material costs and improve safety,” Longstreeth said, adding that the project will also support the town’s economic and agricultural needs and enhance emergency response, as the road is used as one route for fire trucks to get from Hatfield center to the northern part of town.

DPW Director Marlo Warner, who sought the grant, said the full costs of the work to be done by a private contractor will be covered, with the final product being a road raised up a bit and with a crown to shed water to either side.

The Unpaved Roads Program has been championed by Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, and former state Rep. Natalie Blais, D-Deerfield, and also supported by state Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa, D-Northampton, who represents Hatfield and has served on the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Transportation.

“Hatfield is a beautiful place and it is really getting a substantial award as part of the Unpaved Roads Program,” Comerford said.

For Comerford, the new program represents her pursuit of regional equity and combating disadvantages in western Massachusetts, and she appreciates that officials in the Healey-Driscoll administration listened to the needs.

“This is a way for us to recognize the different characteristics of our rural or small towns,” Comerford said.

Regional equity, Comerford said, has also included changing the Chapter 90 roads formula to one based miles of road in a community.

The governor has also made it easier to apply for these types of grants. “We just want to compete on a level playing field,” Comerford said.

Several other communities in Hampshire and Franklin counties are also receiving grants from the program, with $555,610 for a construction project in Goshen, and $821,150 to Orange, $170,640 to Bernardston and $113,970 to Charlemont for similar construction work on gravel roads.

Grants for equipment were awarded to several other communities, including $250,000 to both Leverett and Shutesbury, $239,190 to Deerfield, $226,000 to Worthington, $225,000 to Whately, $250,000 to both Colrain and Conway, $246,000 to Gill, $210,305 to Northfield, $171,128 to Buckland, $170,093 to Heath and $163,000 to Shelburne.

“These are big dollars,” Comerford said.

Other state officials on hand described the program as a milestone.

“This is an historic moment for us,” said Undersecretary of Transportation Jonathan Gulliver, explaining that it was first envisioned a few years ago when Comerford and Blais called and advocated directly to him.

While rural communities in the area benefit, there are 2,500 miles of gravel roads across the state, with some in the North Shore of Boston and others on Cape Cod and the Islands, which didn’t have this dedicated funding source. Gulliver said the grants are designed to help preserve the character of roads.

“Until the launch of the new Unpaved Roads Grant Program, municipalities had no dedicated resource to maintain this critical infrastructure,” Gulliver said. “This program recognizes that one size doesn’t fit all and provides targeted support for communities working to preserve and improve their unpaved road networks.”

The event was held with showers and occasional downpours, prompting Interim Secretary of Transportation Phillip Eng to remark that the weather shows the importance of drainage. Improving gravel roads, he said, will help connect people to jobs, get them to appointments and spur economic activity.

“When they are properly graded and drained they are more reliable, they can handle weather for all four seasons,” Eng said. “By supporting the maintenance, repair and improvement of dirt and gravel roads, MassDOT is helping municipalities strengthen local infrastructure and improve reliability with targeted investments that serve residents and businesses across Massachusetts.”

Eng said Hatfield will also soon be seeing improvements to other infrastructure, with the bridges that cross over Interstate 91 slated for replacement.

The rain was referenced by Sabadosa, as well. “Mother Nature is showing us why drainage is important today,” she said.

Sabadosa said that in her role on the Transportation Committee, a discussion can be about shuttles on Boston Harbor, as well as the dirt roads that touch every community in her district, even Northampton.

“This program is one we need to continue to expand,” Sabadosa said.

Longstreeth said the town has already improved underground infrastructure in the area, putting in new water lines, and the road improvement marks a next step.