Senator Collins Announces More Than $14 Million for Improvements at International Marine Terminal

Washington D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Susan Collins, Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that the Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) has been awarded $14,240,000 through the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration’s (MARAD) Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP). The funding will support components of MaineDOT’s “Enhancing Maine’s Three-Port Strategy for the Future” proposal.

Specifically, this funding award will be used to support critical modernization efforts at the Portland International Marine Terminal (IMT). The Maine Port Authority’s container handling facility at the IMT in Portland has seen huge cargo volume gains in recent years and requires improvements to facilitate this growth. Work will include tripling IMT’s current capacity of refrigerated container plugs, upgrading IMT’s emergency generator system to meet electricity demand from expansion, and other facility improvements.

“Improving Maine’s infrastructure and modernizing our coastal economies are essential efforts for ensuring our state’s long-term growth and prosperity,” said Senator Collins. “This investment will help better position Portland for future expansions and increasing freight volumes. As the Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I will continue to advocate for programs that better Maine’s infrastructure and strengthen our maritime economy.”

PIDP grants support efforts by ports and industry stakeholders to improve port and related freight infrastructure to meet the nation’s freight transportation needs and ensure our port infrastructure can meet anticipated growth in freight volumes. The PIDP provides funding to ports in both urban and rural areas for planning and capital projects. It also includes a statutory set-aside for small ports to continue to improve and expand their capacity to move freight reliably and efficiently and support local and regional economies.

Senator Collins first joined the Appropriations Committee in 2009 and previously served as both the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies. In that time, she has helped secure more than $1 billion for transportation and infrastructure improvements throughout the State of Maine.

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