Business pushes highway bond Projects seen as vital to Maine

AUGUSTA – When Maine’s chief business advocate recently assessed the state’s deteriorating highways, he saw more at stake than treacherous potholes and washed-away shoulders.

“We must make a continuous investment in highways and bridges that our economy requires and that our future depends on,” said Dana Connors, president of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce. “In a rural state like ours, there is a persistent and consistent need for transportation investment. So much of our economy’s success depends on it.”

A former commissioner of transportation under two governors, Connors rarely misses an opportunity to speak out in favor of the $33.1 million transportation bond that will be decided by Maine voters on Nov. 8. The bond would draw down $158 million in federal matching funds to create a total transportation package valued at a little more than $191 million.

“Whether it’s the value of jobs created by the bond or the value of the 5-1 matching federal dollars or the realization of moving people safely, Maine has always appreciated and understood the need for transportation improvements,” Connors said. “We simply cannot afford to skip a beat. There’s no question that its value is important today.”

The $33.1 million transportation package, the largest among the five bond issues totaling $83 million on the ballot, breaks down as follows:

. Highway and bridge improvements, $27 million.

. Port and ferry improvements, $3.5 million.

. Airport improvements, $1.7 million.

. Bus transit and related facilities, $500,000.

. Trail, bike, pedestrian improvements, $400,000.

As transportation bonds go, the proposal offered by Gov. John E. Baldacci and endorsed by two-thirds of the Legislature is modest. Only two years ago, voters approved a $63.45 million bond, and the Nov. 8 question is the lowest-priced proposal to be placed before the voters since 1991, when a $29.7 million bond was passed. That was the same year voters rejected six of seven bond proposals on the ballot. The last time a transportation bond failed was 1969.

While Maine voters historically have been supportive of transportation bonds, proponents such as Connors and Maria Fuentes of the Maine Better Transportation Association remain only cautiously optimistic over the bond’s fate. Despite the promise of safer roads and the creation of 5,000 jobs associated with new construction, Fuentes said approval of transportation bonds can never be taken for granted.

“Frankly, this is a small bond for us, and some people question whether we really need to raise money, but we’re concerned about the public mood,” Fuentes said. “It feels kind of similar to 1991 when people had some concerns about the economy in general and borrowing. We don’t want that to happen this year.”

The need for improvements to Maine’s bridges and highways was underscored recently by a nonprofit, Washington, D.C.-based organization known as The Road Information Program, or TRIP. Speaking for the group, Paul Haaland said that by 2008, the state’s roads and bridges will require improvements totaling $641 million.

Nearly one-third, or 31 percent, of the state’s major roads maintained by state and local governments are in “poor and mediocre condition, providing motorists with a rough ride,” the report states. Although the majority of TRIP’s targeted roads and bridges are in the southern and western portions of the state, others have been identified in the central, Down East and northern regions. Connors said TRIP had correctly shone a spotlight on a problem affecting year-round and seasonal residents alike.

“We have 2,000 miles of road posted every year, we have a third of our bridges nearing the end of their life expectancy,” Connors said. “That’s not a criticism, but it only reinforces the perception that this is a race that has no finish line. When it comes to maintaining a transportation system, it requires continual investment. If you hesitate for a moment, those miles of secondary roads that are in need of repair today will be in need of construction tomorrow, and you’ll continue to slip down that scale.”

Mary Adams is a Garland tax activist who recently delivered citizen initiative petitions to state officials carrying signatures to implement a Colorado-style tax cap known as the Maine Taxpayer Bill of Rights. She doesn’t disagree with the need for improvements to the state’s highway infrastructure, but she does take issue with the way the governor and the Legislature approach the problem.

“The state’s share of transportation maintenance costs should come first and should not need to be bonded,” she said. “I think those ought to be taken off the top from the budget and paid for because they are critically important. But what happens instead is that they pay for everything else and then take a crucial item like transportation and put us in debt for it because they know people perceive roads as very important. It’s just a way for them to catch more fish and it becomes bait for the voters.”

Lee Umphrey, a spokesman for Gov. Baldacci, said bonding decisions are based on competing demands for the state’s “limited resources.”

“We’re constantly facing federal cuts which are further diminishing our resources, and there needs to be consensus at the State House for anything to pass,” he said. “It’s hard enough setting priorities on what to fund and or cut, and there’s no room for new initiatives or funding of new projects. So bonding becomes the way to go.”

Question 2

“Do you favor a $33,100,000 bond issue for improvements to highways and bridges; airports; public transit improvements; state-owned ferry vessels and ferry and port facilities including port and harbor structures; and statewide bicycle trail and pedestrian improvements that makes the state eligible for over $158,000,000 in matching funds?”