Golden, Pingree push for speedy approval of funding for international bridge at Madawaska

MADAWASKA, Maine — Maine's two U.S. House members are pushing federal officials to approve the state's application for a $36 million grant to help pay for a new international bridge at Madawaska.

In a letter to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao dated March 18, Reps. Jared Golden and Chellie Pingree express their "strong support" for the Maine Department of Transportation's request for funding.

"Unless federal funds are acquired for this project, the current bridge may possibly be subject to closure, which would be devastating to both of the communities it connects," Golden and Pingree said of the span across the St. John River connecting Madawaska to Edmunston, New Brunswick.

The current bridge was built in 1921 and is about 20 years beyond its anticipated lifespan. After engineers expressed structural concerns in October 2017, officials on both sides of the border agreed to restrict the bridge's weight limit to five tons, severely limiting heavy commercial traffic. That action also prompted officials to move up the timeline for a resolution.

Officials with the Maine and New Brunswick transportation agencies, engineering consultants and other representatives from U.S. and Canadian federal agencies unveiled plans in January 2018 to build a new bridge extending from the existing span's location in Edmundston and ending about 1,300 feet up the St. John River from the existing port of entry in Madawaska.

While the project is still winding through the approval process, it is estimated to cost a total of $73 million, with entities on both sides of the border contributing.

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