PORTLAND — Lawmakers and rail enthusiasts spent Tuesday pushing legislation that would make it easier to expand passenger train service from Portland to Lewiston-Auburn, but the Maine Department of Transportation has a bigger plan. The Maine DOT’s draft plan sets out goals for $125 million in passenger rail investments between 2014 and 2019 — mostly […]
transportation
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine DOT wants to double bridge replacement funds
AUGUSTA — Maine’s transportation officials say the state must double the amount of money it spends on bridges to ensure their safety and prevent significant long-term costs. The Maine Department of Transportation currently dedicates about $70 million a year for bridge replacement and maintenance projects. But a recent report by the department says it needs […]
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Posted inMaine, sj-web
Lawmakers to consider Brakey bill lifting seat belt requirement
AUGUSTA — A bill that would lift the requirement that adults wear seat belts in Maine encountered head-on resistance Friday from advocates who argued on behalf of their life- and money-saving attributes. Maine’s law mandating seat belts has evolved since 1983, when it required children from birth to age 4 to be in a child […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
LePage unveils transportation improvement plan
That’s 523 capital improvement projects this year throughout the state, according to the Maine Department of Transportation. LePage and Department of Transportation Commissioner David Bernhardt revealed the work plan Monday at a news conference at a Department of Transportation maintenance facility in Augusta. The work plan also was posted on the Department of Transportation website. […]
Posted inFranklin, The Franklin Journal
UMF students practice sustainability with local alumni farmers
FARMINGTON — While washing potatoes Friday at Rustic Roots Farm, Casandra Moreau reflected on the changes she and classmates are making as a result of a No Impact service learning experiment at the farm. Moreau, a junior studying early childhood education at the University of Maine at Farmington who commutes from Skowhegan, is taking an […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Sarah Mildred Long Bridge replacement project gets $25 million grant
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — An aging bridge that connects New Hampshire and Maine is getting $25 million in federal grants for its replacement. The 70-year-old Sarah Mildred Long Bridge connects Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Kittery. It is rated structurally deficient. The states successfully applied for the federal Transportation Investment Generating Recovery, or TIGER, grant. Work on […]
Posted inBusiness
Canadian National to stop service to Auburn Intermodal; surprises officials
“This is news to all of us, and we are trying to figure out what the motivation behind this was,” City Manager Clinton Deschene said Tuesday. “It is interesting timing.” Canadian National posted a customer notification on its website Friday saying that its service to the Intermodal Freight Transfer Facility would end Nov. 15. Mark […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
LePage blasts Congress for holding up transportation funds
AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage is urging Congress to act to prevent a looming shortfall in federal highway dollars that would devastate Maine’s roads budget. In a letter to Democratic Rep. Mike Michaud, who’s on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, LePage warns that Maine faces a roughly 70 percent cut in highway reimbursements […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
CTS to get extra MaineCare payments through June
PORTLAND — Records show that the company that won’t have its contracts to provide rides for Maine Medicaid patients renewed because of poor performance is scheduled to receive millions of dollars in extra money from the state in its last weeks on the job. Connecticut-based Coordinated Transportation Solutions, whose contracts end this summer, already received […]
Posted inMaine
Turnpike signs bill stalls in Legislature
AUGUSTA — A bill meant to tidy up Maine’s interstate highway system by removing or moving about 81 directional and informational signs hit a speed bump in the Legislature’s Transportation Committee on Wednesday. Lawmakers voted to table the legislation, LD 1831, which is the result of a nearly yearlong effort by the Maine Turnpike Authority […]