Sen. Joe Perry’s op-ed commentary (BDN, Aug. 23) titled, “Maine road repairs can’t wait,” correctly states that the Maine Department of Transportation was forced to defer approximately $130 million in much needed funding for highway and bridge projects in 2006-07. This has significantly exacerbated the looming transportation funding crisis in Maine. However, Sen. Perry’s op-ed tells only part of the story.

Maine citizens acknowledge that transportation infrastructure is a corner-stone of Maine’s economy given the high level of voter support for Maine highway bonds for decades. With nearly 4,000 miles of state roads below modern standards and approximately 35 percent of our 2,700-plus bridges in need of rehabilitation and replacement, safety is becoming a greater concern. The Road Information Program (TRIP) has noted that in excess of 50 percent of all traffic fatalities in the United States occur on rural, noninterstate routes but account for less than 30 percent of all travel. Maine has the second highest percentage of fatalities in the nation on these rural routes (more than 80 percent).

Maine, like several other states, has a transportation funding crisis. Dedicated highway funds are not keeping up with needs. Approximately 80 percent of taxes collected on diesel fuels and gasoline, plus registration excises are specifically dedicated to fund the construction and maintenance of highways and bridges. While highway usage has been increasing dramatically, funding in real dollars has been significantly reduced because of inflation, improved fuel efficiency and more recently the impact of the cost of oil on construction and maintenance.

During the period 1975 to 2003, highway fund revenues grew less than one- third of the growth rate of other state revenues. To make matters worse, federal funding per mile of road is relatively low in Maine which ranks fourth in New England. According to a recent report by the Maine Better Transportation Association (MBTA) titled “Losing Ground,” Maine invests about 50 percent of the national average on bridge and road capital improvement projects, resulting in our maintenance budget being 66 percent higher than the national average.

We must find a solution for our transportation funding crisis now or leave an unimaginable legacy for future generations. This will not be easy and will require multiple strategies. We must continue debt funding through bond issues and approve increases in fuel taxes through our indexing mechanism. Additionally, it will be critical to identify other financing alternatives such as user tolls and privatization similar to what is being done on the Trans-Canada Highway.

A major problem with Sen. Perry’s commentary is that rather than identifying root causes, he blames the majority of these issues on “Stridently anti-bond Republicans,” and yet in his closing statement concludes that “Politics cannot get in the way of one more session.” Maine citizens are looking for solutions and are sick and tired of partisan politics. Indeed, it will take a collaborative effort in the Maine Legislature to begin to deal with this crisis.

John I. Simpson, who recently retired as president of H.E. Sargent Inc., a major Maine highway contractor, is a legislative candidate in House District 18. He is a former board member of MBTA and past president of the Associated Constructors of Maine.