The University of Maine has received its first check from the U.S. Department of Transportation to spearhead a regional coalition of other universities to improve and prolong the life of New England’s crumbling roads, bridges and railways.
Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins lauded UMaine’s students and staff Wednesday at a press conference in the Advanced Structures & Composites Center. Up to $14.2 million in Department of Transportation funds — spread over the next five years — will help the UMaine-led coalition develop longer lasting materials and better bridge-monitoring tools, curbing costs and lengthening the life of infrastructure across New England.
UMaine will lead the newly created Transportation Infrastructure Durability Center in a coalition with five other New England universities.
This is the first time UMaine has received these federal funds, which for the past 20 years have been awarded exclusively to the Massachusetts Institute for Technology.
To read the rest of “UMaine to offer high-tech help for New England’s bad roads and bridges,” an article by contributing Bangor Daily News staff writer Alex Acquisto, please follow this link to the BDN online.
