TRENTON, Maine — Members of Maine’s congressional delegation announced Thursday that several planned transportation projects in Maine will receive federal funding, including the Acadia Gateway Center on Route 3.
The center already has a completed maintenance and transportation facility for the seasonal Island Explorer bus system, which provides fare-free transportation during the summer and fall on and around Mount Desert Island. Among the $2 million in federal transportation funding coming to Maine is $700,000 that will go toward final design and construction documents for additional phases of the Acadia Gateway Center. U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud and Sen. Susan Collins each issued statements Thursday on the project funding.
Officials with organizations involved in the Acadia Gateway Center — which included Maine Department of Transportation, Island Explorer and Acadia National Park — have said the next phases of the facility are expected to include 320 additional parking spaces for cars and similar vehicles and 10 spaces for larger recreational vehicles, and a building that has public restrooms, a welcome center and space for local Chamber organizations to provide information about area amenities outside the park. Initial planning and design work on these phases already has begun.
Attempts Thursday to contact officials at MDOT about the additional project funding were unsuccessful.
Other projects that are receiving Federal Highway Administration funding are:
- $580,000 for rehabilitation of the Littlefield Bridge in Auburn.
- $386,560 for visitor facilities on the Grindstone Scenic Byway in northern Penobscot County.
- $300,000 to go toward replacement of the Boundary Bridge in Bridgewater.
- $160,000 to preserve the Robyville Covered Bridge in Corinth.
- $112,400 for a bicycle and pedestrian trail at Indian Township.
- $54,048 to update the Old Canada Road management plan in Somerset County.
- $45,940 to improve rest areas on the Schoodic Byway in eastern Hancock County.
- $34,800 to update the Rangeley Lakes Scenic Byway management plan.
- $22,000 to update the Blackwoods Scenic Byway management plan in eastern Hancock County.
Collins also announced that $500,000 will be used to widen a reversible lane and to add bicycle and pedestrian facilities to Thompson’s Point Road in Portland, which is not in Michaud’s district.
Thursday’s announcement comes just days after Collins indicated that the Casco Bay Island Transit District, which provides ferry service to islands in Casco Bay off Portland, and the Maine State Ferry Service each will receive $1.2 million. The funds for Casco Bay service will be used to build a new passenger ferry, while the state ferry service will use its grant money to improve the ferry docking facility on Frenchboro off Mount Desert Island.
Follow BDN reporter Bill Trotter on Twitter at @billtrotter.
Smile, its more pork. Why should anyone applaud it?
Simple since it’s direct Federal funding that LePage can’t interfere with. He does and it’s gonna bring a Federal investigation into Maine’s use of Federal fund’s. Given Paulie’s current track record with Federal funding and his little Medicare problem he’s stirring up, again, this might not be the smart time to go poking that Federal doghouse with a stick unless he knows that the mutt inside isn’t going to come out and tear him a ‘new one’ . And with Maine’s AG going out and putting Maine on the Federal ‘radar’ as far as constantly whining and crying about how bad the Fed’s are intefering with Maine, someone might just think it’s time to really go look and see just what is happening up here. Hurry up Novmber 6th !
This is unbelievable. The driveway to this DUMP prob cost $5 Million. NO ONE is even going to use this place. Let’s see….I’m gonna drive for 7 or 8 hours from NY or PA & then stop 20 minutes from Acadia & jump on a bus???? Sure. I’m done paying taxes for this type of crap.
This Dump, as you call it, is another piece in the puzzle to ease conjestion on Mount Desert Island and in the Park. You are right the tourist from NY and Pa is going to drive by.
The whole concept is to capture some of the day trippers and serve as a park and ride for some of the hundreds who travel to the Island every day to work.
And by the way many of the tourists from NY and Pa park their cars at the hotels, motels and campgrounds and travel the buses to the local towns and attractions.
If you have ever traveled to MDI in July and August you know about the conjestion. The roads there are not designed to handle the traffic. The cost to upgrade these roads far out numbers the cost of the Gateway development.
Return on our investment ? Take a look at the employment provided on the Island and the tax dollars generated evey year.
Actually, I live on MDI. I’m gonna venture a guess, with your name, that you don’t. So why don’t you show me some facts, that “the tourists from NY & PA park their cars at the hotals, motels, & campgrounds & travel the buses to the local towns & attractions.” Cuz you know what? They don’t. They drive around in their own minivans. Just like you do, when you go somewhere on a vacation.
I demand that my govt. reps bring back Maine’s tax dollars to Maine. If they don’t they fail in their job description to represent my interests. I trust our Maine govt. employees to propose smart, worthwhile, economically and ecologically sounds projects to fund for the citizens of Maine, based on facts and the latest science and technology. If not, they fail. People use the pejorative term pork, because of the old adage of bringing home the bacon. I call it jobs!
Federal and State govts. working together is called democracy in action.
Actually, Maine receives $1.4o for every $1.00 it sends to Washington, meaning, that this type of spending is ruining our economy, both locally and nationally. The sense of spending entitlement you espouse is ill-formed and frankly, part of the problem– our spending of money we don’t have. If your argument then is that if Mane doesn’t get its cut, then the money will go to projects in Texas or California, or even Montana or Wyoming, then that’s part of the problem too. Congressional pork barrel spending, be it an unwanted navy ship at BIW, or a boondoggle bus terminal in Trenton, it’s wrong and we cannot sustain this type of spending. As for your reference to jobs, be it their creation or sustaining them, let’s be honest and count private sector rather than government funded ones. Because as we all now know, the fastest growing job sector is government (AmeriCorps???) and it takes a village to build it, not entrepreneurship, private equity, dreams, visions, and personal sacrifice.
So, I’d love to have some Maine politicians “fail” in bringing home your socialist bacon anytime. We need more that don’t take the bait and can resist the lure of buying constituent electoral loyalty through these dopey, waste of money projects, labeled as infrastructure or not.
Please stop driving on those socialist roads and bridges. Please close down all the public schools in your town. Then look around. What you see is a ghost town.
As regards jobs, let’s be honest. Money is green and it all spends. Call it what you like. I’d rather call my neighbor over for a game of horseshoes.
$386,560 for visitor facilities on the Grindstone Scenic Byway in northern Penobscot County.What a waste.Is mike michauds name going on that to?