BANGOR — Gov. Angus King on Wednesday announced a $200 million plan to upgrade the major roads crossing Maine.

The plan, unveiled during the annual meeting of the state’s largest business group, calls for the state to rebuild many existing east-west roads such as Route 9 to raise them to modern highway standards capable of handling 55 mph traffic. It also calls for construction of two-lane, limited-access highway from Interstate 395 in Brewer to Route 9 near Eddington.

Although King stopped short of endorsing a four-lane highway linking Maine to Quebec and the Maritime Provinces, he left the door open by calling for the acquisition of rights of way to allow expansion of some roads, if needed.

“We need an east-west highway connection in Maine,” King said to applause from members of the Maine Chamber and Business Alliance.

The governor’s plan drew praise from proponents of a four-lane east-west highway.

Former Bangor Mayor Timothy Woodcock, president of Maine Citizens for Increased Jobs and Safety, said King’s approach acknowledges the need to consider safety and to plan for growth.

“It’s a very important first step,” Woodcock said.

“He has endorsed, for the first time … the integral part that an east-west highway can play in securing the economic future of northern and central Maine,” he continued. “We look forward to working with the governor.”

The governor’s announcement came eight days after the release of a report that threatened to weaken political support for a four-lane east-west highway similar to Interstate 95.

The report, conducted for the state by a New Hampshire consulting firm, concluded that such an expensive project would offer only modest economic benefits.

Costs would range from $151 million for the cheapest upgrade of existing roads to nearly $1.2 billion for the most expensive of two proposed routes for a four-lane highway.

The consultant, RKG Associates of Durham, N.H., recommended instead that the state work to improve existing roads, especially state Route 9 east of Brewer and U.S. Route 2 west of Newport.

In recent days, skeptics have suggested the consultant sought to make the case against a four-lane highway, at the request of King’s administration.

King angrily dismissed that notion.

“That is a gross insult to the people who worked on or supervised that study,” King declared.

“Let’s talk about the issues, but let’s not say the data was cooked by a bias in the administration … ” he said.

To prove his point that he was committed to better east-west travel, King proposed a seven-step approach that calls for:

Selected improvements to Route 9, known as the Airline, from Calais to Brewer. The plan calls for a new border crossing from Calais to New Brunswick, and construction of a new limited-access, two-lane road linking I-395 to Route 9.

An environmental assessment and initial engineering study to determine whether it is possible to build a two-lane, limited-access highway linking I-95 in Pittsfield to U.S. Route 2 near Norridgewock. The project would coincide with efforts to build a new bridge over the Kennebec River in Skowhegan.

A 10-year plan to upgrade 396 miles of major roads that the state considers substandard. The roads would include state Routes 9 and 26, along with parts of U.S. Routes 1, 1A and 201.

Cooperating with Maine’s congressional delegation to seek greater federal funding for upgrades to parts of state Routes 6, 16 and 26.

Rehabilitating the Calais Branch rail line to create a viable alternative to highway travel for people in Hancock and Washington counties.

Purchasing the remainder of the Lewiston lower rail line and building a Lewiston-Auburn connection. A transportation bond issue on the Nov. 2 ballot includes money for this project.

Upgrading the Canadian Atlantic rail corridor between Brownville and Jackman. Funding also would come from the November bond package.

King said the plan would generate “80 percent” of the benefit of a major four-lane road at 20 percent of the cost.

“I felt it was important to stop talking and start digging,” he said.

“What we’re focusing on are outcomes,” King said. “We want a road that is safe, fast and efficient.”

Afterward, Transportation Commissioner John Melrose said the state hopes to have most of the projects in the plan either under construction or permitted by 2003.

He said the state hopes to secure an 80 percent federal match and then draw the state’s share from the transportation budget, bonds and tolls.

“My first objective would be to see if we could pay for it as we go, through our normal budget process,” Melrose said.