MAINE, USA — The Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT), which operates the state's ferry service has been awarded $16.5 million from the Biden-Harris Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to modernize ferry terminals in Lincolnville and Islesboro.
"Ferries are an important part of everyday life in Maine," U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. "Some Americans, when they think about transportation, they think planes, trains, automobiles and don't think much about ferries. For others, it's an absolute vital link."
Buttigieg told NEWS CENTER Maine that's why the department wanted funding from the infrastructure package to go toward ferries.
Nearly $300 million is going toward upgrading ferry systems across the country.
The terminals in Lincolnville and Islesboro were built in 1959. The new terminals will be built to accommodate a future hybrid ferry. It's something Buttigieg said the local community will benefit from.
"These newer systems can provide reliability benefits, efficiency benefits, and cleaner air," he said. "Whole communities are impacted by the emissions and the pollution that can come from the older ship fuel and technologies. Often there is a community that wants to have this newer, cleaner technology, but they haven’t had the funding."
According to the Maine DOT, the state's ferries carry nearly 500,000 people between a handful of islands and the mainland each year. In 2023, about 200,000 riders and more than 85,000 vehicles rode the ferry between Lincolnville and Islesboro.
Despite an upcoming presidential election, the secretary said the effort to modernize the country's ferry system is to benefit the people and not win political points for one side.
"It’s really about making sure the infrastructure improves in a way that lifts up the whole country," Buttigieg added. "There are no Republican bridges or Democratic roads. We’re just trying to get stuff done.”