Senator Schneider Joins Leaders for Meeting with U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood

August 19, 2009

Photo Caption: (Left to Right) Congressman Michael Michaud, Senator Elizabeth Schneider, and U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood

ORONO—U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood visited the University of Maine’s Advanced Engineered Wood Composite Center (AEWC) Monday, August 17, 2009, to learn more about the capabilities of UMaine’s “Bridge in a Backpack.” Secretary LaHood met with Governor John Baldacci, Congressman Mike Michaud, Senator Elizabeth Schneider, AEWC director Dr. Habib Dagher, and other dignitaries.

The bridge in a backpack provides bridge builders with an exciting new option to building bridges that are designed to last longer than conventional construction. A bridge can be built by inflating hollow carbon-fiber tubes that can fit in a bag. Once on site, the tubes are unrolled and inflated to the desired form or arches for a bridge project. As the arches are inflated, a special vinyl ester resin is infused to the form making the arches solid. Once the forms have dried, concrete can be poured inside the hollow arches to further reinforce the structure.

Secretary LaHood said he was impressed with UMaine’s bridge in a backpack technology, and would report back what he has learned to President Obama’s Green Cabinet, which includes a number of other top Obama Administration officials.

Senator Schneider commented that “Additional federal support for the Bridge in a Backpack program and AEWC could help create hundreds of new jobs for Maine people as a result of this innovation.”

While in Maine Congressman Michaud, Governor Baldacci, and Senator Schneider also spoke with Secretary LaHood and his staff about the importance of increasing weight limits on I-95 north of Augusta from 80,000 to 100,000 pounds. Congress is currently considering a rule change that would help get bigger trucks off local roads, and Secretary LaHood recently pledged that he would help address this issue during a recent Appropriations Committee hearing. This work continues the efforts of local advocates like Albert and Belinda Raymond who previously formed a group called the “Coalition To Lower Fuel Prices in Maine” to help increase the weight limits on I-95 north of Augusta.

Additionally, Senator Schneider spoke with Secretary LaHood’s staff about finding support to replace the walkway along the Orono Bog Boardwalk with a new composite path so that the public may continue to enjoy the beauty and fascinating plants and animals of a Maine bog. More than 30,000 people a year visit Orono’s Bog Walk.