TAUNTON — The South Coast Rail project took an important step forward Wednesday when state transportation officials approved a nearly $18.4 million contract for major grade crossing improvements in Taunton, Freetown and New Bedford.

South Coast Rail Project Manager Jean Fox summarized the full grade crossing improvements at a task force update meeting at Bristol Community College’s satellite campus in Taunton and shared contract details after the Massachusetts Department of Transportation awarded the contract later in the day.

She said LM Heavy Civil Construction received the contract as the low bidder to replace the rail crossings in Taunton at Dean Street (Route 44) and Arlington Street; for three crossings in Freetown at Elm, High and Copicut streets; and one in New Bedford at Nash Road.

The work could begin next month and take up to two years to complete, Fox said.

The contract with LM Heavy adds significant spending toward the $2.3 billion rail project from Fall River and New Bedford for 55 miles through the approved Stoughton route to South Station.

Ten other rail crossings will receive less extensive upgrades.

In a 15-minute project update, Fox listed four active rail bridge replacements that are out to bid and that were previously identified under early actions to boost the rail project. They include three Fall River bridges at President Avenue, Brownell Street and Golf Club Road and the three-span Wamsutta bridge in New Bedford.

Fox and Victor Negrete, state Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development regional planning manager, announced at the task force meeting 22 technical assistance awards totaling $353,830 to promote state goals for preservation and planning in several areas.

Fall River was one of a handful of towns receiving the maximum $25,000 in the seventh round of technical assistance awards, while Dartmouth, Westport, Taunton and New Bedford were among communities within the rail corridor receiving grants aimed at improving opportunities for transportation, economic development, housing and bicycle/pedestrian access among other areas.

It was the largest annual amount by far funded by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation for communities working with regional and state planning agencies, Fox told about 25 people attending the task force’s first meeting in about five months.

Many of the mini-grants built upon prior ones, Fox said.

For instance, Fall River’s was its third related to developing streetscape designs, in this case for the Lower Highlands Historic District to reconnect to the waterfront to promote tourism and economic development.

Westport will use $15,000 to do a build-out analysis to guide future zoning changes. Dartmouth gains $11,800 to complete a Route 6 corridor study on mixed use development that has some relation to a $2.2 million MicroWorks grant the state awarded last week.

Among the other Gateway cities, Taunton’s $15,000 will help companies in the Myles Standish and Liberty and Union industrial parks develop use and occupancy inventories, while New Bedford received $20,000 to use recent census data and update its housing needs.

In Greater Fall River, corridor towns Somerset, Swansea and Freetown, which received prior mini-grants, did not apply on this round, Fox said.

Stephen Smith, Southeast Regional Planning and Economic Development District executive director, chaired the 90-minute meeting.

Negrete spent a portion of the meeting giving an overview of the top-priority development and protection areas identified that are in line to be updated and remapped.

He said that in 2008, the state identified 33 priority development areas, or PDAs, while this region listed a larger number, 51.

Those developments would include South Coast Rail sites, promote job creation and dovetail with state priority development such as in life sciences and high-tech, Negrete said.

He expects the state list will expand slightly to 40 to 45 PDA sites.

Addressing the priority protected areas, or PPAs, is more sensitive and complex, with various agencies, communities and advocacy groups weighing in.

“We don’t see any reason to remove any areas,” Negrete said of the protected areas outlined 2008. He said there are “hundreds” of PPA-designated sites from the 2008 map within the South Coast Rail corridor, from Fall River and New Bedford through Stoughton and then to South Station.

Grant King, a principal planner with SRPEDD, offered some scope by saying the number of PPA sites has increased 13 percent since 2008, while more specific targeting of them has reduced the land area by 63 percent.

Kyla Bennett of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibilities questioned King, saying it was the individual communities that had “the final say” on retaining PPA designations.

They disagreed, specifically, over input from the town of Easton. She questioned protections for the Hockomock Swamp.

In three or four weeks, Negrete said EOHED and other agencies would publish the revised PDA and PPA identification maps, which would allow further community comment.

“You’re not going to undermine the public process and people who attended the public meetings?” asked New Bedford Planning Director Jill MacLean, seeming to counter some other comments.

Fox, using a slide presentation, said the joint-venture consultants MassDOT hired under a 10-year project in June would spend the next 2½ years performing conceptual design for permitting.

The partner project managers are Rick Carey for Vanasse Hangen Brustlin and Michael Stoffel for HNTB Corp., Fox said.

That contract is for $210 million, with $12 million designated for the current fiscal year.

The Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority took over project oversight this summer, with Kim Dobosz named the MBTA project manager.

The first year will include taking technical surveys of rights of way and beginning to identify those areas with input of corridor communities land takings for the massive project.

The subsequent 2½ years would be work toward final design to prepare for construction bid awards, Fox said.

She estimated the construction timetable as the following five years. “We are looking at a 10-year program right now,” Fox said.

On the technical assistance mini-grants, also receiving the maximum $25,000 were Seekonk, Lakeville, Foxboro, Fairhaven, Marion and Norton. Other mini-grants were Acushnet, $5,000; Bridgewater, $10,000; Canton, $8,500.

MassDOT and EOHED officials, in a press release, said the grants “comply with the corridor plan and the goals communities have developed for priority preservation areas (PPA) and priority development areas (PDA).”

Further mini-grant and project details are being posted on the state website, www.massdot.gov/southcoast.rail.