Governor Janet Mills announced on Wednesday, $1.6 million in Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan grant funding to support innovative transportation initiatives by four Maine employers to help them grow and retain their workforce.
The grants, administered by the Maine Department of Transportation, are part of the Workforce Transportation Pilot Program, an initiative of Governor Mills’ Jobs Plan that supports local and regional pilot projects that connect workers to employers through ridesharing, vanpools, and other transit options.
The four grants announced were awarded to Bath Iron Works, Gagne Foods in Bath, Timber HP in Madison, and Robbins Lumber in Searsmont. In November, MaineDOT announced the first workforce transportation grant to Sunday River in Newry.
The Workforce Transportation Pilot aligns with strategies from Maine Won’t Wait, the state’s four-year plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in part by promoting public transportation, to combat climate change.
Applications for the Workforce Transportation Pilot program are open. There is no application deadline, but applicants are encouraged to submit projects as soon as possible. With these new awards, approximately $3 million remains to be awarded through the program. For more information on how to apply, please visit its website.
The Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan is the Governor’s plan, approved by the Legislature, to invest nearly $1 billion in Federal American Rescue Plan funds to improve the lives of Maine people and families, help businesses, create good-paying jobs, and build an economy poised for future prosperity.
Since the Jobs Plan took effect in October 2021, the Mills Administration has delivered direct economic relief to nearly 1,000 Maine small businesses, supported more than 100 infrastructure projects around the state to create jobs and revitalize communities, and invested in workforce programs estimated to offer apprenticeship, career and education advancement, and job training opportunities to 22,000 Maine people.