BAILEYVILLE – As the state nears a decision on where to build a key St. Croix River bridge between Maine and Canada, Washington County’s largest employer has weighed in on the issue.

Domtar Industries Inc., which acquired Georgia-Pacific Corp.’s pulp and paper mill earlier this year, has said it sees the Calais Industrial Park as the “preferred location” for a third bridge in the area.

It is the first time the county’s heaviest economic hitter has stepped forward on the issue.

In an Aug. 6 letter to the Calais Bridge Committee, Debby Feck, general manager of Domtar’s pulp and paper mill, said that “while self-serving interests may have led us to prefer a location near the Woodland Industrial Park [on Route 1 in Baileyville], we instead chose to look at the overall benefit to the region.”

A business advocacy group, the Calais Bridge Committee, has spearheaded a push to build a third bridge in Calais. The state Department of Transportation has estimated such a bridge at the industrial park location would cost about $7.1 million.

For the past few months, state and federal officials have considered placing the proposed bridge near the Calais Industrial Park, two miles north of downtown, or in Baileyville, near the intersection of Routes 1 and 9, more than eight miles from downtown Calais. The state has been working with a public advisory committee, made up of representatives from Calais to Bangor.

Feck itemized what Montreal-based Domtar cites as advantages to the Calais Industrial Park location, including the park’s proximity to a rail line that connects Maine with New Brunswick. She also suggested that increased rail traffic entering and leaving the Down East region could generate competitive rail services. Any increase in businesses in the area, she said, might make use of the county’s largest shipping port, at Estes Head in Eastport.

Right now Domtar is the port’s major shipper.

Feck was appointed Domtar’s general manager earlier this month, replacing Ralph Feck, her husband. The mill employs around 600 people.

On Monday, Calais resident Edmund DelMonaco said the bridge advocacy committee is “excited that Domtar management has taken a regional approach to the business and transportation needs of Washington County by recommending that the Calais Industrial Park be the preferred location for the new bridge.”

At present, there are two bridges across the St. Croix River between Calais and St. Stephen, New Brunswick. The Ferry Point Bridge is downtown and the Milltown Bridge is north of downtown.

Calais Mayor Eric Hinson said Monday that he thought Feck’s letter of support for the Calais location was “great news.” He said he was pleased that Domtar viewed the placement of the bridge as a regional issue. “I applaud them for supporting us,” he said.

Interim City Manager Jim Porter also was enthusiastic about Domtar’s endorsement.

The members of the Calais Bridge Committee said they planned to forward a copy of the letter to DOT.