U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaks at the site of the former B&M Baked Beans plant on Wednesday. The Roux Institute is developing the former factory site into an innovation hub and the state received a $25 million grant to build a new off-ramp to the campus from I-295 as well as a pedestrian and bicycle bridge that will run parallel to Tukey’s Bridge to the campus. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and a contingent of state officials made two stops on Portland’s waterfront Wednesday as part of his two-day visit to Maine to highlight federal infrastructure investments.

At the International Marine Terminal on Commercial Street, Buttigieg said the federal strategy is to invest in ports of all sizes and not just the huge ports in large cities.

“I am especially impressed with mid-sized ports like Portland that punch above their weight class,” he said.

And at the future site for the Roux Institute, the former B&M Baked Beans plant in East Deering, Buttigieg touted a $25 million federal grant that will help pay for an access ramp off Interstate 295, as well as pedestrian and bicycle access. The Roux Institute, a partnership with Northeastern University, is expected to open its campus in 2027.

Gov. Janet Mills, one of the officials accompanying Buttigieg, said that if the Roux Institute site “is to be successful it has to be accessible for workers and for the neighborhood and community where it sits.”

Buttigieg, speaking before a crowd of about 200 at the site, praised Portland for emphasizing bicycle and pedestrian access to the waterfront property. The paths improve safety for pedestrians and bicyclists, and also improve connections to surrounding neighborhoods.

“Good multiuse paths in infrastructure are not ornamental, they are fundamental to good transportation public policy,” Buttigieg said.

In addition to a new highway off-ramp, pedestrian and bicycle access, the Greater Portland METRO bus system will create a new bus route, a straight shot to the campus from downtown Portland.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaks at the site of the former B&M Baked Beans plant on Wednesday. Standing behind him are Portland Mayor Mark Dion, Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, and Gov. Janet Mills. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer

Maine is the 50th state Buttigieg has visited as part of his infrastructure funding tour. He stopped in Freeport on Tuesday to highlight highway investments.

The marine terminal received a $14.2 million grant under President Biden’s Investing in America program. The funds were used to increase the number of electrical outlets needed to power refrigerated containers that pass through the port facility, as well as construction of storage racks, new lighting and other improvements.

The terminal includes a new 107,000-square-foot, 55-foot-tall cold storage facility that aims to give Maine’s food and beverage companies a competitive edge and access to markets.

The facility is expected to meet the refrigerated storage demand of Icelandic shipping company Eimskip and be large enough to accommodate Maine-based customers as well.

Matt Burns, Maine Port Authority executive director, said the federal grant will help increase capacity by more than 400 refrigerated shipping containers, which will allow the port to increase the volume of cargo moving through the terminal.

Buttigieg, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, was on the short list to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate in the fall election. Harris selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and the two are campaigning across the Midwest this week.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaks at the site of the former B&M Baked Beans plant on Wednesday. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer

Buttigieg has been a vocal supporter of Harris and Walz, but said he cannot discuss the presidential campaign during his Maine stops because he is visiting on official White House business.

Mills and U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, both Democrats, were on hand to tout the port investments and also took time to praise Harris’ selection of Walz.

Pingree said Walz, who while in Congress represented many small towns in Minnesota, is a “down-to-earth” politician who “knows how to get along with everyone” and is the type of humble politician to meet voters at pot luck suppers.

“He’s sort of perfect for rural Maine,” Pingree said. “We won’t have to explain anything to him.”

Buttigieg said he was able to squeeze in some down time while on his official visit, including eating a lobster roll and a whoopie pie and running the Back Cove loop in Portland. He said the people were welcoming, and he enjoyed dining at The Other Side diner in Portland, near the Roux Institute site.

“I really feel like I’ve got to come up here more often,” Buttigieg said.