VHB Selected to Advance Coastal Resilience in Maine

Communities across Maine are planning for a more resilient future, balancing changing coastal conditions with the infrastructure, natural resources, and working waterfronts that are central to local economies and quality of life. Two recent project selections will give our team the opportunity to help turn those priorities into actionable designs.

VHB was selected by the Maine Office of Community Affairs (MOCA) to provide Nature-based Engineering Design Services for Communities through the Nature-based Design Technical Assistance Opportunity. The initiative addresses an important challenge for Maine communities: many lack the in-house design and engineering resources needed to position priority climate resilience infrastructure projects for state or federal funding.

Through the program, our team will provide participating communities with direct support to develop 30 percent preliminary engineering designs for nature-based or hybrid strategies at high-priority public properties. Across multiple rounds, the program is expected to support 20 community projects and help build a pipeline of green infrastructure projects positioned to pursue future Maine Infrastructure Adaptation Fund and federal infrastructure funding.

Farther along Maine's coast, the Town of Jonesport selected VHB for the Henry Point Working Waterfront Commercial Pier project. VHB will provide professional engineering, design, technical analysis, and public engagement services to plan and design a climate-resilient commercial pier serving fishing, aquaculture, and maritime service businesses in the Moosabec Reach and surrounding communities. The planned facility is intended to reduce congestion at the existing State-owned recreational marina while providing Jonesport's fishing, harvesting, and maritime businesses with safe, secure, and resilient access to deep water for future generations.

Together, these projects demonstrate the range of ways we are helping Maine communities advance coastal resilience, from early-stage nature-based design that can position communities for infrastructure funding to engineering a working waterfront around long-term community and economic needs.

Connect with Jess Reilly-Moman, VHB's Director of Environmental Services in Maine via email or LinkedIn. Or learn more about VHB's Coastal Engineering & Resiliency services and how our multidisciplinary teams are helping communities prepare infrastructure and waterfronts for a changing climate.