A possible $7 million in federal money to fix failing bridges in Maine wouldn’t be enough to pay for new projects, but it could help those already on the state’s list.

“There’s been significant inflation since we started budgeting for projects,” said David Sherlock, program manager for the Maine Department of Transportation’s bridge program. “They’ve gotten more expensive, so federal help may let us develop the existing program.”

The U.S. House of Representatives sent the Senate a bill last week that would give states $1 billion in emergency funds for bridge repair. It comes a year after the collapse of a bridge in Minneapolis that killed 13 people. The Bush administration has promised to veto that proposed increase.

But Maine needs its share, said Herb Thompson, spokesman for the Maine Department of Transportation.

“The price for most bridge work has gone up, and this would help,” he said. For example, the cost of liquid asphalt has nearly doubled since April, when it was $400 per ton. Last week, the price was $750 per ton.

“That’s the active component in just about every paving, every bridge project we do,” Thompson said. “That liquid is mixed with aggregate to make the material used on just about every road in Maine.”

Prices for concrete, steel and fuel to run the paving equipment also have gone up, he said.

A list compiled by the state last fall showed 485 bridges – about 18 percent of all bridges statewide – were in poor condition. That included more than 100 bridges in Androscoggin, Franklin and Oxford counties.

Legislators responded this spring, approving a bond issue of $40 million per year for the next four years. That should expand the annual spending on bridges to about $110 million per year through 2012. The state is increasing vehicle registrations, vanity plate fees and title fees to pay back the bond.

Maine is among 17 states pushing for bridge repairs, according to a study by the Reason Foundation that was released Wednesday. The study ranked Maine as the 13th worst for bridge conditions, with 29.9 percent of bridges rated as deficient.

Maine fared better than other New England states, according to the Reason Foundation study. New Hampshire was rated 12th worst, with 30.3 percent deficient; Connecticut was rated eighth worst, with 32.8 percent deficient; Vermont was rated seventh worst, with 35.7 percent deficient; Massachussetts was rated sixth worst with 36.2 percent deficient; and Rhode Island was rated worst in the nation with 53.4 percent of its bridges deficient.

Besides Maine, 16 states have proposed ambitious bridge and road spending totaling $13.7 billion. To date, $8.3 billion has won approval in six states, including $600 million in Missouri and $6.6 billion in Minnesota.