AUGUSTA — There’s real federal money — $1.2 million, to be precise — to partially fund construction of a complete intersection at Exit 113 of Interstate 95 in north Augusta.
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, announced the grant today while standing at the Harold Alfond Center for Cancer Care, one of the major facilities that motorists will find easier to access via the new ramps. Next door, earth was being moved for a new MaineGeneral Medical Center regional hospital.
The funding announcement comes eight months after two federal bills died; Congress recessed without acting on them. Collins had earmarked $4 million for the construction in an Senate bill, and U.S. Rep. Chelllie Pingree, D-1st District, had a $1 million in funding in a House bill.
The grant money comes from the Federal Highway Administration’s Transportation and Community and System Preservation program. Collins wrote to U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in June, saying the project was a top priority for the Maine DOT.
In a prepared statement Friday, she added, “This funding will help provide full north and southbound access to I-95—and connections to Routes 3 and 27—making the future site of the new MaineGeneral Medical Center fully accessible.”
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