AUGUSTA (AP) – Lawmakers from northern Maine are asking that federal stimulus dollars be used to help jump-start the idea of extending Interstate 95 into the state’s northernmost expanse.

The Legislature’s Transportation Committee has voted unanimously in support of a bill directing the Maine Transportation Department to seek federal economic recovery money to extend I-95 beyond Houlton, where the highway now comes to an end.

Sen. Troy Jackson of Allagash says people in far northern Maine have been waiting for an extended interstate for more than 50 years.

He said it would help farming and trucking businesses and allow for better transportation connectors with Quebec and New Brunswick. Jackson said the bill will now go to the full Legislature for approval.