By Will Tuell

After months of congressional gridlock, lawmakers in the U.S. House and Senate passed six bills designed to avoid a partial government shutdown last week. The six bills, totaling an estimated $460 billion, provide at least $21 million in funding for Washington County projects, including $12.8 million for fish passage restoration on the St. Croix River, $7.8 million to reconstruct Route 1A between Milbridge and Harrington, and $1 million for wastewater treatment upgrades in Lubec.