Just a good start

Gov. King’s “achievable vision” for improving east-west transportation in Maine may emphasize the readily achievable over the truly visionary, but it is a good start, a most welcome acknowledgment that the state can no longer simply count on economic growth to seep up from the south.

It is, as the governor told the Maine Chamber and Business Alliance Wednesday, time to move from talking to building. More to the point for the state’s struggling upper tier, it is time to move from falling behind to catching up.

The $200 million, seven-step plan is a mixed bag, ranging from the obvious to the downright far-sighted. The upgrading of existing roads to federal safety standards — principally wider travel lane and shoulders — is long overdue. Much of the rail component has been planned for some time, some of it is already in the November transportation bond, but it’s always good to reiterate good ideas. The connection of Route 9 to I-395 looks like a small thing on the map. In the real world it is a costly and environmentally sensitive project that will require staunch advocacy, but that will return significant benefits. A new border crossing north of Calais and a bypass at Skowhegan certainly will improve travel, but those communities must be assured, perhaps with accompanying economic-development projects, that they will not be left to languish at the wayside.

All this, of course, stops far short of the limited-access, four-lane divided highways that seem to do so much good for safety and economic growth elsewhere, but — here’s the real vision — the plan also includes the acquisition of right-of-way and development rights for expansion should circumstances dictate. It is unclear at present what those circumstances might be — that will be for a future governor and a future legislature to decide.

It is troubling that the current plan calls some of the highway improvements to rely on substantial federal contributions with the state’s share met through the normal, pay-as-you-go budget process. That may be the preferred approach, but it must not be the only approach. If these projects are necessary for safe, efficient travel, they must be carried out. The needs of Northern Maine must not be held to a higher standard or held hostage by the whims of Congress.

This package of transportation improvements is based upon a consultant’s report released last week which concluded that economic projections do not justify a modern divided highway. It is unfortunate that a narrowly focused study, designed merely to assess the impact of a highway upon the existing Maine economy, has been construed by some as the final word instead of just the beginning of a long information-gathering process. It was good of the governor to make that point Wednesday.

It is also unfortunate that the study has generated allegations that the numbers were cooked, that the administration commissioned a study guaranteed to reach a desired conclusion. Those allegations are may be unfair, but the underlying suspicions are understandable. The public record is peppered with past statements by Gov. King suggesting his support of a modern east-west highway is lukewarm at best.

But on Wednesday he said, “We need an east-west highway connection in Maine.” It’s on the record. It’s reasonably visionary. It’s just a start, but it’s a good one.