Senator Olympia J. Snowe

SNOWE, COLLINS APPLAUD MAINE PRIORITIES INCLUDED IN COMMITTEE-PASSED FY 2005 TRANSPORTATION-TREASURY APPROPRIATIONS

Spending Bill Includes Funding for Calais Border Crossing, Madawaska Border Station, Essential Air Service, Amtrak

Contact: Antonia Ferrier/ (202) 224-5344
Monday, September 20, 2004

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins today announced that the Senate Appropriations Committee has cleared the Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 Transportation-Treasury Appropriations bill which includes funding for priorities in Maine. The measure, which funds the U.S. Departments of Transportation, Treasury and related agencies, will now go to the full Senate for consideration.

Projects requested by Snowe and Collins, and funded in the appropriations measure, include construction of a new border crossing at Calais, assistance for Amtrak’s Portland-Boston Downeaster service, and support for four community airports in Maine through the Essential Air Service.

“We are pleased with the support appropriators provided to the crucial, transportation-related priorities of such importance to Maine,” said Snowe and Collins in a joint statement. “The legislation provides vital funding to our state’s transportation future, such as the funds provided for the construction of an additional border crossing in Calais.”

Among the Senators’ top priorities included in the Committee-approved bill are:

• $5.5 million in funding for the new Calais Border Crossing. Allocated from the General Services Administration, this funding will assist in purchasing the land and the design blueprint for a new Customs House. Snowe and Collins have requested additional funding for road and bridge work for the new Calais border crossing, which will be added later in the appropriations process.

“We have long supported the completion of this critical project, which will serve as a key link in the international trade corridor between the Eastern United States and Atlantic Canada. The Calais-St. Stephen connection is the 8th busiest border crossing between Canada and the United States. The new station will play a vital role in providing the essential linkage between U.S. Routes 1 and 9 in Maine, and Routes 1 and 3 in New Brunswick,” the Senators said.

The Calais Border Crossing project involves construction of new U.S. and Canadian border stations, a new bridge across the St. Croix River, to connect St. Stephen, New Brunswick and Calais, Maine, as well construction of approach roads that will connect to U.S. Route 1 and Canadian Routes 1 and 3. The project’s purpose is to relieve congestion at the border crossing, to divert commercial traffic from the downtowns of the two communities, and to restore the efficient flow of goods and people through the nation’s 8th busiest commercial border crossing with Canada.

• “High Priority Project” Designation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the Relocation of the Machias Valley Airport. In the legislation, the Committee also directed the FAA to give priority consideration to a group of airports, including Machias Valley, for high priority project funding. Intended to provide greater flexibility and expand the airport to meet the needs of Washington County, this project will seek to relocate the current Machias Valley Airport facility to a new site. Identified through a FAA and State funded study entitled “Machias Valley Airport Site Assessment Study”, the new site will be able to accommodate current airport facilities, be capable of providing up to a 5,000 foot-long runway, and serve both the aviation needs and the economic development needs of the region.

• $1.76 million for the Madawaska, Border Station. The allocation of $1.76 million is part of a planned $15.2 million in the coming years to expand the border patrol station to almost 1-½ acres. The new facility will include two additional inspection lanes separating commercial traffic and all other vehicles. Also, a new administrative building will replace the outdated building.

Madawaska is New England’s third busiest port in terms of automobile traffic and sixth busiest in truck traffic. Current conditions are not only inadequate to serve this traffic, but also sub optimal from a security standpoint. These improvements will help the facility meet the standard that its use and location demands.

• $171.6 million in Highway Formula Funding Grants, for construction and rehabilitation efforts on Maine’s highways.

• $6.4 million in Transit Formula Funding Grants, for the purchase and improvements of Maine’s public transportation infrastructure.

• $102 million for the Essential Air Service Program (EAS). Critical in rural states like Maine where many small, remote communities would not have access to scheduled air service, EAS provides federal support to maintain operations at eligible community airports. In Maine, airports in Augusta, Rockland, Presque Isle and Bar Harbor receive federal funding under EAS.

Under the President’s FY 2005 budget, EAS funding would have been drastically reduced by approximately 51 percent from FY 2004 levels – from $103 million to $50 million – and include a “cost-sharing” provision, wherein EAS communities would be required to contribute matching funds for a portion of their EAS subsidy or forfeit service. Snowe and Collins successfully worked to ensure that the cost-sharing provision was blocked in the appropriations bill.

• $1.2 billion for Amtrak. Under the President’s FY 2005 budget, Amtrak would have received $900 million, which constitutes a $300 million cut from FY 2004 funding levels. In Maine, Amtrak provides train service from Portland to Boston, commonly known as their Downeaster service.

“While we are committed to working to address Amtrak’s long-term financial challenges, we also believe that we must act in the short term to keep operations running. If Amtrak does not receive funds in the short term, it will cease to exist. Furthermore, we have long believed that if we are to confront our great transportation challenges – including air traffic delays and highway gridlock – an enhanced nation-wide rail network must be part of the solution,” said Snowe and Collins in a March letter to Senate Appropriators.

• $20 million for the Small Community Air Service Grant Program. Under this program, the U.S. Department of Transportation is authorized to award grants to 40 communities served by small-hub or non-hub airports that have demonstrated air service deficiencies or higher than average airfares. This initiative has already proved beneficial to two Maine airports. In June 2002, the City of Presque Isle, Maine was awarded a $500,000 grant to establish Presque Isle-Portland service, and in June 2003 the City of Bangor received a $310,000 grant under the program for the purpose of establishing low-fare jet service.

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