Road bond issue passes Margin near record level

Maine’s $61 million transportation bond passed by a nearly 3-to-1 ratio Tuesday, according to unofficial election results.

With 93 percent of the state’s 661 precincts reporting results to the Bangor Daily News, Question 3 was passing with 74.1 percent of voters in favor and 25.9 percent opposed.

“I was a little concerned that the uncertain economy could make people a little cautious,” said Maria Fuentes of the Maine Better Transportation Association, which lobbied for the proposal. “But Maine people know a good deal when they see one.”

The record approval rating for a transportation bond was 78 percent in 1997.

John Melrose, commissioner of the Maine Department of Transportation, said nearly all of the state’s highway reconstruction program for the next two years hinged on approval of the bond issue. The funding, he said, is critical to the state’s efforts to keep up with deterioration of the existing system while building improved facilities to promote jobs and economic growth.

“These projects are in the pipeline and ready to go out to bid in the spring,” he said. “It’s been pretty much of a tradition that Maine voters support these kind of bond questions and this particular package is very good.”

Even in difficult economic times, Maine voters have recognized the need to invest in the state’s transportation infrastructure. Dana Connors, president of the Maine Chamber and Business Alliance and a former state DOT commissioner, said voters always have appreciated the need to improve the state’s transportation links.

“They know that in addition to safety concerns, these issues are essential to a strong economy that relies on the movement of its people and products,” Connors said.

If the most expensive bond issue on Tuesday’s ballot failed to attract opposition, it is quite possibly due to the fact that the proposal offers something for everyone. Members of the road construction lobby and labor unions supported the question because of the jobs the transportation projects will provide. Snowmobilers, fishermen, hikers and cyclists expect to benefit from some projects. And the bond contains funds for improvements to railroads, airports, marine ports and ferry lines.

The broad-based initiative will be matched by $121 million in federal funds and nearly $16 million in local funds, creating a transportation improvement program valued at nearly $200 million. Excluding federal or private matching funds, the bond question contains $37.4 million to upgrade 200 miles of major and minor collector highway systems including $2.9 million for enhanced access to bridges used by snowmobilers and boaters.

Under the freight-related improvements section of the bond, there is $5.8 million for improvements to state-owned rail lines; $1.8 million for road expansion at the Loring Commerce Centre; $1.5 million for the state’s small-harbor improvement program; and $1 million for new construction at Mack Point Pier in Searsport.

Passenger-related improvements addressed in the bond include $4 million for intermodal facilities to connect rail, transit, marine and park-and-ride areas; $3.25 million for airport improvements across the state; $2.35 million for ferry service improvements; $1.65 million to buy buses for urban and rural transit programs; $1.5 million to rehabilitate an arch hangar at Loring Commerce Centre; and $750,000 to build recreational trails.

In addition to the need for statewide transportation improvements, proponents of Question 3 also emphasized that plummeting interest rates are proof that there has never been a better time for the state to borrow money.

“We’re looking at a bond of this magnitude because we’re not raising the money that’s needed to pay for these improvements,” said Jane Lincoln, DOT deputy commissioner. “And in terms of looking at a good time to bond, interest rates are continuing to drop.”

Lincoln said the road projects that constitute more than half of the bond’s total borrowing figure were allocated on an equitable basis statewide with special emphasis on safety and the economy of the region served by the particular highway. She said that in addition to the economic benefits gained by job creation and the impact of those jobs on the local economy, the road improvements also tended to be predictors of future economic development.

“When you enhance travel, you improve productivity and safety and provide the opportunity for business to locate in parts of the state they might otherwise have not considered,” she said. “When you improve a bridge or interchange, you often see development follow which then has an impact on job creation and local property taxes.”