WASHINGTON – Some $4 million in federal funding for projects in Maine has been included in the fiscal year 2009 Transportation and Housing and Urban Development spending bill as reported by the Senate Appropriations Committee, according to Sens. Olympia J. Snowe and Susan M. Collins.

The bill will now go to the full Senate for its consideration.

The proposed projects include:

. $500,000 for the University of Maine Advanced Bridge Safety Initiative. UM would use the funding to monitor existing at-risk structures and perform advanced engineering analyses of critical bridges and bridge components.

. $500,000 for the town of Milo for utility and infrastructure upgrades to the new Eastern Piscataquis Industrial Park

. $400,000 for American Lighthouse Foundation of Rockland for restoration and preservation of Maine’s historic lighthouses. The foundation cares for 10 historic lighthouses along the coast of Maine.