Collins champions $65M for Maine’s rural infrastructure
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that the State of Maine will receive $65 million for two rural infrastructure projects through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Competitive Highway Bridge Program.
Created by Collins and U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island in 2018 as leaders of the Senate Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee, the CHBP funds highway bridge replacement or rehabilitation projects on public roads that serve rural communities. Maine will receive an outsized proportion — 16% — of the $408 million awarded nationally through this program because of Collins’ leadership.
Funding secured includes $38,712,000 for “Critical Connections: Preserving Mobility for Rural Economies.” This project replaces 11 state-owned bridges across rural central Maine. The project spans the central part of the state, including structures in seven of Maine’s counties: Androscoggin, Franklin, Hancock, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Sagadahoc and Somerset. All 11 bridges are in poor condition, over 50 years old and have exceeded their original design service life. The replacement bridges will be designed with a 75-year service life.
The bridges that will be replaced with this funding include Silvers Mills Road in Sangerville, built in 1954 crossing French Mills Brook.
“Growing up in Caribou, I have always been acutely aware of the unique challenges facing our rural communities and determined to find solutions,” Collins said. “That is why I was proud to work with my colleagues to create this program to replace aging bridges in rural communities across Maine and the nation. There is no reason Mainers should have to continue using bridges that are in poor condition and have exceeded their original design service life. These new bridges will help improve safety, support good-paying jobs and better connect rural Mainers to the rest of the state.”
Since joining the Appropriations Committee in 2009, Collins has helped to secure more than $1 billion in competitive transportation grants for the State of Maine.
Throughout her time in the Senate, Collins has continued to be a champion for rural Maine. In December she announced that Maine will receive $190 million in first-year funding through the Rural Health Transformation Program, a $50 billion initiative that will be awarded over five years that she proposed to support rural health care systems across the country. This funding is the largest single federal investment in rural health care in more than two decades.