AUGUSTA - Today, the Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) released the 2023 Edition of its three-year Work Plan. This Work Plan includes all capital projects and programs, maintenance and operations activities, planning initiatives, and administrative functions for calendar years 2023, 2024, and 2025. This plan contains 2,599 individual work items with a total value of $3.94 billion, consisting primarily of work delivered or coordinated through MaineDOT.

MaineDOT's Work Plan is influenced by significant challenges and opportunities.

One of the biggest challenges is structural: transportation is and always will be a big job in Maine. We have a large, mostly rural state with challenging geology and weather and a small, spread-out, aging population. To meet those needs, Maine has a vast, multimodal transportation system.

Another challenge shared by DOTs across the country is the cost of doing business. Since 2018, MaineDOT has experienced construction cost increases averaging 40 to 50 percent, driven by tight labor and materials markets. Because of this, MaineDOT will continue to embrace a "MacGyver" approach of getting the most customer value from each dollar we are provided. Ingenuity and prudent stewardship of public funds is what Maine travelers and taxpayers rightly expect.

Despite these challenges, there is great opportunity in the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) passed a little more than a year ago. In addition to an increase in reliable formula funding that helps address increased costs, the BIL includes a dramatic increase in the amount of competitive grant funding that allows MaineDOT to make targeted improvements without detracting from our core mission of taking care of the system we have now.

Most federal transportation funding programs generally require state match funding, so state funding is critical to unlocking these federal funds. Governor Mills and the Maine Legislature have provided robust levels of General Fund support for transportation. Ongoing state support will allow MaineDOT to address both the challenge of increasing costs and the opportunities provided in the federal BIL.

"Strong support for infrastructure at both the federal and state levels gives us reasons to be optimistic about the future of transportation in Maine," said Bruce Van Note, Commissioner of the Maine Department of Transportation. "We are continuing our shift from making do to making pragmatic progress. If we set reasonable goals that fit Maine's needs, manage costs with practical ingenuity, and find the funds needed to match available federal funds, all Maine people can realize the enhanced safety, economic opportunity, and quality of life that comes with a better transportation future."

For the reason noted above, many of the major projects included in this Work Plan include some sort of extraordinary funding from the federal government - either from the BIL discretionary grant programs or Congressionally Directed Spending awards. Such funding represents about 11 percent of the total value of Work Plan items.

"The team at MaineDOT is skilled at both responding to challenges and embracing opportunities both of those qualities are evident in this Work Plan," said Maria Fuentes, Executive Director of the Maine Better Transportation Association. "Continued support for infrastructure at both the federal and state levels gives Maine the ability to make new investments in its transportation system. Those investments support thousands of jobs in our state. We share the optimism that a better transportation system is within our reach."

This Work Plan invests in the largest and most heavily used component of Maine's transportation system: its 8,800-mile, state-jurisdiction highway network and 2,800 bridges. This Work Plan includes nearly $2.2 billion for highway and bridge capital projects, including the following:

• 302 bridge projects (estimated cost: $706 million).
• 1,178 miles of preservation paving (estimated cost: $575 million).
• 271 miles of highway construction and rehabilitation (estimated cost: $475 million).
• 264 highway safety and spot improvements (estimated cost: $190 million).
• 2,073 miles of Light Capital Paving (estimated cost: $116 million).

Other notable projects in this Work Plan include:

• Replacing approximately 75 miles of rail on CSX's Waterville-Mattawamkeag Line and making other track improvements to allow heavier freight cars and increased speeds ($42.5 million).
• Construction of a new hybrid electric vessel for the Maine State Ferry Service to service Lincolnville and Islesboro ($35 million).
• Pedestrian safety improvements in 12 Heads Up! focus communities that have experienced a disproportionate number of pedestrian crashes in recent years ($11.1 million).
• Rural worker/workforce transportation funding opportunities for projects aimed at connecting workers to employment opportunities, especially in rural areas where transportation options are limited ($5 million).
• Preparing a grant application to facilitate improvements on a 2.7-mile-long segment of the Eastern Trail in North Berwick, Wells, and Kennebunk.

This Work Plan continues to invest in Maine's iconic downtown and village areas. Launched in 2022, MaineDOT's Village Partnership Initiative focuses on improving lower-speed areas where people meet, walk, shop, and do business. Partnerships between MaineDOT and municipalities aim to leverage special federal funding to support placemaking projects. A partnership between MaineDOT and the City of Sanford has already secured a $25-million federal grant. A project in Windham is being ready for consideration for a co-grant application. Other Village Partnership Initiatives are in various stages of development in Bucksport, Cumberland, Gorham, Monmouth, Monson, Norway, Orono, Presque Isle, Pittsfield, Rangeley, Rockport, Skowhegan, and Woodstock.

"The Village partnership Initiative has been a catalyst for channeling key elements of the town's Downtown Revitalization Plan into a tangible path forward beginning with the Oquossoc Village Transportation Study that is underway now," said Joe Roach, Rangeley Town Manager. "MaineDOT leadership met with town officials to discuss the program, planning staff helped the town through the application and consultant selection process, and professionals from various disciplines across MaineDOT had a strong presence at the kick-off meeting and are engaged with our project consultants. The Village Partnership Initiative enhances transportation and community development locally while strengthening the state as a whole. The benefits of the partnership go beyond the matching funds."

This Work Plan, like all such plans, is dependent upon funding assumptions involving state Highway Fund revenue, federal funds, and other funding sources. Should funding sources not materialize, the work items within this plan will need to be adjusted to reflect funding changes.

View and search the 2023 Edition of the MaineDOT Work Plan by visiting www.mainedot.gov. This year's Work Plan also features an interactive, media-rich story map.