Phinney Invited to Biden’s Infrastructure Event in New Hampshire

Maine AFL-CIO President Cynthia Phinney and Maine Building and Construction Trades Council President Jason J. Shedlock were invited to attend President Joe Biden’s speech at the New Hampshire State Port Authority in Portsmouth last week to promote investments made in the $1.2 trillion package that he signed last November. 

“The infrastructure bill that was recently signed into law is going to provide a lot of work and President Biden supported our efforts to be sure it would provide not just jobs, but good jobs and good union jobs,” said Phinney. “At the Portsmouth event he spoke clearly about the neglected state of much of our infrastructure and the opportunities that rebuilding it will provide in both Maine and New Hampshire.”

Biden noted that the recently completed completed Piscataquas River turning basin project received $1.6 trillion from the infrastructure bill. The $20 million project, led by the Army Corps of Engineers, has widened the uppermost turning basin of the river to increase freight traffic and accommodate large shipments entering the harbor.

“This port is open and it will be for a long time,” Biden said. 

In total, the the infrastructure law includes $17 billion to support the nation’s port infrastructure. Maine’s share of the infrastructure funding includes $244,550,089 to maintain and reconstruct roads, highways, and bridges across the state.