Several central Maine communities have been awarded state grant funding to make infrastructure improvements meant to help them deal with increasingly intense storms and flooding caused by climate change.

The grants are part of $5.4 million announced Thursday by Gov. Janet Mills as part of the Maine Infrastructure Adaptation Fund, which is intended to support projects that protect vulnerable infrastructure and improve resiliency to the effects of climate change, according to a statement from the governor’s office.

Randolph, Fairfield, Washington and Winslow are to receive $200,000 each to replace failing culverts that are at risk of washing out or collapsing. The state funding will match local funds spent on culvert improvement projects. Twenty projects in 18 Maine communities were funded.

Nineteen communities also received a combined $1.4 million for other projects intended to protect vulnerable public infrastructure from climate change effects and improve climate resiliency. The funds are administered by the Maine Department of Transportation.

The town of Fayette is to receive $125,000 to scope, design and build two stream crossings to mitigate flooding.

Hallowell has been awarded $37,065 to scope out a project to adapt some of its stormwater infrastructure to handle an increase in extreme precipitation events.

Vienna is to receive $49,875 to design three stream crossing structures to accommodate larger water flows.

In her recent State of the State address, Mills proposed spending an additional $50 million on the Maine Infrastructure Adaptation Fund to help communities in the state rebuild in the wake of devastating storms, including a storm in mid-December that caused major flooding along the Kennebec River and elsewhere in central Maine.

The fund was created in 2021 and provides grants for infrastructure improvements that support public safety and protect essential community assets.

“The recent storms, along with the damage they caused, just further underscore the importance of our work to help communities improve their infrastructure to better withstand the impacts of climate change,” Mills said in the statement.

“This investment from the Maine Infrastructure Adaptation Fund will help 37 cities and towns across Maine enhance their resiliency to severe weather and rising sea levels.”

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