‘Highway North’ to the crown of Maine

The Maine transportation commissioner recently stated, “… plans for the north-south highway to the St. John Valley are further along now than ever in the last 50 years.” This is the best news we ever received regarding the improvement of our situation. Of course, we still have other barriers to cross and let us cross them diligently. I suggest that anyone, especially from Aroostook County, who falls short of supporting the needed highway north is on the wrong track.

It is time, more than ever, to recognize and defend important realities.

We are part of Aroostook County, the state of Maine and the United States and we should be treated as such. It is time to complete the Highway North.

Aroostook County is a beautiful part of rural America with the best farms north of New York. We are not poor and remote as insinuated in a Nov. 8 Maine Times article. Our population rates one of the best in America. Many of our neighbors have suffered no choice but to find work south of the County and have done so with leadership and entrepreneurship. Nonetheless, much of our community spirit strives to prosper.

In a democracy, the majority rules. The majority of central Aroostook should decide their fate, the majority of northern Aroostook should also decide their fate, and both in unity with all due respect to realistic environmental and financing issues. In doing so, our dynamic Commissioner Melrose, would have all the necessary support from our population and our towns. Which person or which community would want to

be an obstruction to this so needed important development.

The Canadian Trans-Canada Highway travels on the other side of the St. John River. Many Canadians would want to board our Highway South and many Americans would want to cross over to the Trans-Canada via the Northern part of our State. This is not playing politics with Canadians. Rather, to our benefit, increased travel, is the tourist industry, support of recreation and hotels and restaurants and malls and it goes on and on for all Aroostook businesses.

While motoring down to Florida last November and with recent travels though the western United States, I made a few observations. Generally speaking, after we pass New England states and some of Northeastern states, Interstate 95 passes through over many l00 of miles through much wooded areas as in Maine which is nice and neat. It seems that we no longer build Highways in urban areas as we did earlier in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and others which have become somewhat dangerous highways with all local services.

In some western states, we see many 100 of miles through desert land, very remote compare to Maine, and it is not as nice and neat. Another important reality: Why should we invest billions for underground highways, as an example underneath Boston and other urban areas, creating hardships on working people who have to spend hours in congested traffic to go work and back home to their families and not enough funds for rural America? This is an agenda that we will need to pursue and discuss for the funding of our Highway North.

I wish to conclude with a line I learned in school as a young boy: “Man was created a little lower than the angels but above the beasts of the fields.” I would wish that the environmental

people would consider these few words while evaluating the Highway North plans.

John F. Dionne is a retired businessman from Grand Isle and is spending the winter in Florida.