Maine Department of Transportation
The Maine Department of Transportation, also known as MaineDOT, is the office of state government charged with the regulation and maintenance of roads and other public infrastructure in the state of Maine. An exception is the Maine Turnpike, which is maintained by the Maine Turnpike Authority. MaineDOT reports on the adequacy of roads, highways, and bridges in Maine. It also monitors environmental factors that affect the motor public such as stormwater, ice/snow buildup on roads, and crashes with moose.
Organization
MaineDOT is an agency that consists of several offices:
- Bureau of Planning
- Bureau of Maintenance and Operations
- Office of Passenger Transportation
- Office of Freight Transportation
- Office of Communications
- Bureau of Project Development
- Capital Resource Management
- Transportation Service Center
- Environmental Office
- Office of Legal Services and Internal Audit
- Safety Office
- Contract Procurement Office
- Office of Engineering Quality and Oversight
Road
See List of Maine State Routes, Interstate 95 in Maine, U.S. Route 1 in Maine and U.S. Route 2 in Maine.
Rail
MaineDOT owns hundreds of miles of railway track in the state, much of it acquired as the result of abandonment of rail on unprofitable lines by private carriers. The state does not itself operate a railway, instead leasing lines or engaging private contractors to operate on state-owned rails:
- Former Bangor and Aroostook Railroad line abandoned by Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway:
- Madawaska to Millinocket, 233 miles (375 km) now state-owned / Irving-operated Maine Northern Railway[1]
- Former Belfast and Moosehead Lake Railroad line:
- 30 miles (48 km) of heritage line in Waldo County operating as Belfast & Moosehead Lake Railway
- Former Maine Central lines abandoned by Guilford:
- Calais Branch from Bangor to Calais: mostly abandoned, but MaineDOT leases a 10-mile (16 km) segment between Brewer and Ellsworth to the Downeast Scenic Railroad.[2]
- Rockland Branch from Brunswick to Rockland, now part of the Maine Eastern Railroad, [3]
In 2012, MaineDOT sought an operator to restore passenger service on St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad tracks to Lewiston and Auburn, Maine."[4]
References
- ↑ "Maine reaches deal to buy imperiled rail lines". Trains Magazine. 20 October 2010. Retrieved 20 October 2010.
- ↑ downeastscenicrail.org
- ↑ Drury, George H. (1992). The Train-Watcher's Guide to North American Railroads: A Contemporary Reference to the Major railroads of the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Waukesha, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing. pp. 123–125. ISBN 0-89024-131-7.
- ↑ "Construction Advertisement Plan". Maine Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2 April 2012.