$7.2M requested by Collins for Dover-Foxcroft bridge replacement included in transportation funding bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, the Ranking Member of the Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, announced that $7,200,000 she requested for the replacement of the Dover Bridge on Essex Street was included in the draft Fiscal Year 2022 Transportation Appropriations bill that has been released by the Senate Appropriations Committee. The legislation must still be voted upon by the full Senate and House.

“Dover Bridge is one of the two major bridges in Dover-Foxcroft and has served as a critical crossing of the Piscataquis River for nearly a century,” said Collins. “More than 2,000 cars rely on this bridge every day, and its replacement is urgently needed to ensure that residents of Dover-Foxcroft and the surrounding communities can continue to conveniently access jobs and homes on both sides of the river. As the Ranking Member of the Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, my priority is to improve our nation’s infrastructure and ensure Maine’s needs are addressed, and I will continue to champion this funding as the appropriations process moves forward.”

The Dover Bridge first opened to traffic in 1930 and carries Essex Street over the Piscataquis River. If enacted into law, the Maine Department of Transportation will use this funding to replace the 91-year-old bridge.

Collins also requested $1,027,000 for the Greenville-based Northern Light C.A. Dean Hospital Rural Mobile Mammography Project. Funding would create a rural mobile mammography service that can serve rural regions of Maine that lack mammography programs.