"A safe, reliable, and up-to-date transportation infrastructure is a critical component of economic development. It is imperative that we spend the resources necessary to ensure that those who live in and visit Maine are traveling on roads, bridges, and highways that are as safe as possible," said Senators Snowe and Collins in a joint statement.
"We are pleased that our colleagues have recognized the importance of these projects to the state of Maine. These dollars will provide benefits throughout the state and enable the Maine Department of Transportation to undertake a many of its highest priorities," the Senators added. "We are also pleased that this legislation updates the manner in which the Department of Transportation calculates how much money each state will receive from the highway trust fund. This update will provide Maine with a much-needed increase of funds over what we received in the last highway bill."
At the request of Senators Snowe and Collins, the highway spending bill includes the following projects for Maine:
• Aroostook North-South Highway - $33 million
• I 295 capacity enhancements and improvements– $15.8 million
• Waldo-Hancock Bridge Replacement - $31 million
• Calais Border Crossing Project - $12 million
• The Maine East-West Corridor Project - $18 million
• Augusta Memorial Bridge - $7 million
• Gorham Bypass - $15.7 million
• Norridgewock Covered Bridge - $9 million
• Deer Isle-Sedgwick Bridge - $16 million
• Acadia Intermodal Facility - $4 million
• Maine Bike and Pedestrian Projects - $2 million
• Richmond – Dresden Kennebec Bridge - $3.75 million
• Lewiston-Auburn Circulation Improvement - $6.36 million
• Access and Traffic Improvements to Route 15 in Brewer - $1.75 billion
• Improvements and construction of US Route 1A and State Route 9 in Bangor - $1.5 million
• Research and Development of Cathodic Bridge Protection to extend the life of concrete bridges and Marine structures within varied climates - $500,000
• Harpswell Cribstone Bridge - $3 million
• Rockland Ferry Project - $2.6 million
• Swan Isle Ferry Project - $1.4 million
The bill also includes the following: • Passenger Van Safety: The Highway bill includes legislation introduced by Snowe requiring rollover testing, advanced technological systems testing, and the closing of loopholes which put schoolchildren at risk. In 2002, 14 forestry workers were killed when their van flipped off a one-lane bridge over the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, the worst motor vehicle accident in Maine's history
• Downeaster Funding Mechanism: In a unique arrangement, the Downeaster, while it is technically a part of the Amtrak system, is actually funded by a program known as CMAQ (which is a program within the Highway Trust Fund). Because of this, Maine needs to receive an exemption to use CMAQ funds to pay for the Downeaster. In this bill, an amendment offered by Senators Snowe and Collins was adopted and extends that exemption until the expiration of the legislation, in September of 2009.
In addition, at the request of Senators Snowe and Collins, the Highway Bill also designates the route from Calais, Maine to Watertown, New York as a "High Priority Corridor," which will make that east-west route eligible to receive additional funding in future appropriations bills under the Federal Highway Administration's National Highway System, Surface Transportation, and Bridge Programs.
Prior to the passage of this bill, every other region of the United States had a designated High Priority Corridor except the Northeastern U.S., despite the tremendous volume of trade that is transshipped through our ports and across our northern border with Canada. ####