One reason why Maine ranks among the highest-taxed states in the nation was explained by the editorial in the Bangor Daily News Feb. 21, titled, “Economic connector.” The Maine Department of Transportation seems intent on selecting an extension of Interstate 395 to Route 9 without a cost-benefit analysis of all viable alternatives.

DOT favors a route that would proceed northerly from the end of I-395 through Brewer, Holden and Eddington to meet Route 9 in Eddington. Brewer residents prefer a route extending easterly from the end of I-395 and paralleling Route 1A. This route would help relieve traffic on Route IA and obtain more benefit for the tax dollar spent – a “two for the price of one” approach. While this seems logical, the overall economic benefit accruing from making Route 9 the east-west highway is questionable.

The east-west highway concept was agreed upon because it would bring economic benefit to the state by connecting with the Canadian highway system. However, before DOT could turn the first shovel of dirt to connect I-395 to Route 9, the eastern end of the east-west highway from Canada to Maine would already exist. The Canadians will have already beaten us to the punch, to the gratitude of Maine taxpayers who face the prospect of paying for a four-lane road from Calais to Brewer.

Construction of the last short link of the Trans-Canada Highway between Fredericton and Woodstock, New Brunswick, will begin this fall. A four-lane, limited access, high-speed highway will then extend from Halifax through Dartmouth and Truro, Nova Scotia, to Moncton, Fredericton and Woodstock, New Brunswick, and connect with I-395 in Houlton. Traffic from Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island and most of New Brunswick will use the four-lane highway, instead of following the route from Moncton through a partially completed four-lane road to Saint John, and then largely two-lane roads through Calais to Bangor.

A highway official in Fredericton told me it was now a 11/2-hour drive from Moncton to Fredericton. From Fredericton to connect with I-95 would be about one hour’s drive, upon highway completion. It is then two hours to Bangor on I-95, for a total of about 41/2 hours. For comparison, driving time from Moncton to Calais is about three hours. It is then about two hours to Bangor, with good road conditions, for a total of about five hours. Regarding distance, the two routes will be almost the same when the construction is finished in Canada.

A prime reason given by the DOT to build the I-395 to Route 9 connector is because it projects an increase in traffic by the year 2030 of approximately 70 percent. Their projection is based on outdated information from 1999 and earlier that does not consider changes in the Canadian highway system that will send more traffic through Houlton and less through Calais.

Route 9 has already been closed twice in February because of truck accidents on slippery roads. Accidents like these that close the highway, and other shortcomings of a two-lane highway for heavy truck traffic, will increase the pressure to make Route 9 into a four-lane interstate-like highway. Imagine the unnecessary costs of this to Maine taxpayers. By comparison, the Trans-Canada Highway completion is scheduled for 2007, which will make an interstate-quality connection from the Maritime provinces to Montreal and Toronto.

When Gov. King endorsed the idea of a limited-access east-west highway in October 1999, he envisioned it would connect Maine to markets in Montreal and Toronto. The time taken to complete such a highway through Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, even if these other states would agree, would be unreasonably long. The connection to Montreal and Toronto can be made via I-95 and the Trans-Canada Highway by 2007.

Tax money that would be spent unnecessarily on the I-395 and Route 9 connection could be better spent elsewhere. The use of Route 9 as the east-west highway would do little for Washington or Hancock counties. If one purpose of this project is to improve transportation in eastern Maine, it would be better to improve U.S. Route 1 and Route 1A from Calais to Brewer via Robbinston, Perry, Pembroke, Dennysville, Whiting, East Machias, Machias, Jonesboro, Columbia Falls, Harrington, Cherryfield, Milbridge, Steuben, Gouldsboro, Sullivan, Hancock, Ellsworth and especially Ellsworth to Brewer, one of the most heavily traveled highways in the state.

If safety is truly a concern and given as a reason by the DOT to build a new roadway, the cow path called U.S. Route 1A should be upgraded to handle traffic going from Brewer and I-395 through to Mount Desert Island. I suspect increased traffic on this route will dwarf any increase on Route 9 in the next 30 years.

Another example of how to better spend tax money would be to rebuild the railway from Brewer to Calais. The state already owns the old rail right of way and rail bed. A study commissioned by the Eastern Maine Railroad Development Commission reported that it was economically feasible with the existing business in the region to construct and support rail along this route, which would include a connection to the port of Eastport.

Intermodal facilities in Calais and Eastport that could place truck cargo on rail cars would replace some traffic on Route 9. The costs of building rail for passenger and freight are given in the Sunrise County Economic Council Web site and are far cheaper than highway construction. Just the $50 million or so that would be spent on the I-395 to Route 9 connector would build much of this rail.

Let’s spend our tax money more wisely. Before the Canadian road-building effort hit its stride, a billion dollars for an east-west highway might have made sense. It’s time to rethink and take advantage of the Canadian taxes that have been and are being spent. This may be anathema to some promoters, but it sits well with this Maine taxpayer.

Dr. Hewlett Crawford is a certified wildlife biologist and licensed forester who lives on his tree farm in Eddington. He was formerly a research scientist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service and is now retired.