The Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) has received more than $192 million in federal grants to support major infrastructure projects statewide through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Funds will be distributed to the following projects:
$70 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bridge Investment Program (BIP) for six bridge projects in Kennebec and Penobscot counties.
$63 million through the BIP to rehabilitate and improve six bridges along the I-395 corridor in Bangor and Brewer.
$53 million from the Federal Railroad Administration’s Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) program for freight rail upgrades in Aroostook, Penobscot, Piscataquis and Washington counties.
$5.2 million via the Federal Highway Administration’s Advanced Transportation Technologies and Innovation program for traffic safety enhancements in Brunswick, including technology-based alerts for bridge height restrictions, congestion and hazardous weather conditions.
$1 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to support electrification initiatives at four Maine ports.
“These investments in our transportation system support safety, reliability and economic opportunity,” MaineDOT Commissioner Bruce Van Note said. “Maine continues to do well when competing for discretionary federal grant funding. These awards, while never guaranteed, are an important element of our work plan.”
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The $70 million grant from the BIP will allow MaineDOT to replace aging bridges in Sidney and Waterville. The current bridges lack the necessary vertical clearance for interstate traffic, posing a risk of bridge strikes, so replacing them will improve safety and reliability, including wider shoulders. The bridges in Sidney are Dinsmore Road Bridge, Lyons Road Bridges, Drummond Road Bridge and Town Farm Road Bridge. Trafton Road Bridge in Waterville is also slated to be replaced.
The $63 million BIP grant will fund upgrades to six bridges along the I-395 corridor in Bangor and Brewer, including the rehabilitation of the Veterans Remembrance Bridge over the Penobscot River. The region is a vital transportation hub for northern and eastern Maine, and investments will bolster trade in these areas, as well as in eastern Canada. The bridges support:
I-395 over Main Street in Bangor (rehabilitation).
I-395 over the Penobscot River crossing from Bangor to Brewer (rehabilitation).
I-395 over Maine Central Railroad in Brewer (rehabilitation).
Robertson Boulevard over I-395 in Brewer (replacement).
Parkway South over I-395 in Brewer (replacement).
Green Point Road over I-395 in Brewer (replacement).
The $53 million CRISI grant will enable MaineDOT, in partnership with Eastern Maine Railway and One North, to improve the speed, reliability and safety of 140 miles of active and currently unused track. The upgrades will strengthen links to national and international markets while also supporting the growth of industry and the creation of living-wage jobs.
Photo courtesy Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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