Maine to partner with businesses to fund transportation projects
The construction of an Interstate 95 interchange in Waterville will be the first to use a new state transportation program that will give higher priority to road projects if private developers cover some of the cost.
The initiative is meant to fund transportation projects that help local economic development efforts, splitting the costs between the state, municipalities and businesses, the Portland Press Herald reported.
The public-private partnerships will allow the state to leverage its limited transportation dollars to secure additional funding from the private sector, Maine Department of Transportation Commissioner David Bernhardt told the Press Herald.
In Waterville, the interchange project will be funded with the help of Trafton Properties Inc., a Rhode Island-based land holding company that owns 923 acres near the site, according to the Press Herald. The project had been discussed for years by the city and state, but the willingness of Trafton Properties to cover part of the cost moved it forward.
Trafton Properties will match the department’s $1.81 million contribution to the project, and the federal Economic Development Administration has awarded a nearly $1 million grant.
Harry Kojoian, vice president of operations for Trafton Properties, told the Press Herald that the firm believes the interchange will attract tenants to its former mill property at the corner of West River and Trafton roads, especially manufacturers and light industry companies.
The shared funding method is similar to another Interstate 95 interchange project, the new exits and entrances built in Augusta in 2014 near MaineGeneral Medical Center. The agreement had the state pay 60%, MaineGeneral 29% and the city 11%.
The program is modeled after the $13 million Exit 113 interchange project in Augusta. That project, finished in 2013, was the product of a three-way agreement between the state, the city of Augusta and MaineGeneral Medical Center. The agreement called for the state to pay 60%, MaineGeneral 29% and the city 11% in the form of tax increment financing. The interchange provides motorists a direct route to the new hospital.
The program, called the Business Partnership Initiative, was introduced in the department’s 2013 work plan. In that work plan, the department outlined the program as a way to to attract new businesses and help business expansion and retention.
The $4.81 million Waterville interchange project is expected to go out to bid next summer.
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