Plan outlined for revamping Maine roads, bridges

BANGOR – Proposed legislation to address the state’s deteriorating roads and bridges is expected in the coming session.

The Maine Better Transportation Association presented an overview of the proposed bill, sponsored by Sen. Dennis Damon, D-Trenton, during a briefing Friday morning that was attended by state and local officials and transportation frontrunners.

The event was held at the Sheraton in Bangor in conjunction with BACTS, Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce, and Eastern Maine Development Corp.

The proposed bill, An Act to Secure Maine’s Transportation Future, consists of four parts and has the goal of creating stable, long-term funding solutions.

“We found tremendous concern within the population on the condition of our roads,” John Melrose said Friday.

Melrose served as Department of Transportation commissioner under Gov. Angus King and now is president of the consulting firm Maine Tomorrow of Hallowell.

The bill’s four main areas include:

. Highway rehabilitation and modernization that focuses on the existing substandard and major arterial collector highways in the state.

. Bridge rehabilitation and replacement to bring the state’s bridge inventory into balance so that the expected remaining useful life of Maine bridges is more evenly distributed and replacement can be staggered.

“At best, bridges last as long as people, 70 to 80 years,” Melrose said. Currently, 70 percent of Maine’s bridges are 80 years old or older.

. Transportation downtown program to address urban areas.

. An “extraordinary corridor” investment program to look at issues such as the north-south highway and potential east-west highway projects.

This section also would deal with the major bridges in the state that cost more than $5 million to repair.

The bill doesn’t provide funding for projects, but does request that the Department of Transportation report back in a year with a plan and schedule for projects.

“This isn’t easy,” Melrose said. “There’s no easy way to deal with what we’ve got to deal with.”

A random statewide survey of 500 people showed that, without prompting, 58 percent of those who participated said the state is spending too little on roads and bridges. The survey, conducted by Command Research of Harpswell, has a 4 percent margin of error.

Once informed of the condition of the state’s transportation infrastructure, 92 percent agreed that the state is spending too little.

In his presentation, Melrose noted that “bad roads cost Maine motorists $263 million per year in auto repairs, and auto claims paid for medical bills in 2000 was $71 million.”

Those surveyed also were asked how they would prefer to fund road and bridge projects:

. 91 percent favor a sales tax on gas offset by a reduction in the per gallon tax;

. 74 percent favor fixing state roads and bridges with sales taxes from car and truck sales;

. 74 percent favor dedicating commercial truck excise tax funds to fix state roads damaged by trucks;

. 64 percent favor using debt to finance bridges so that current and future users share the cost;

. 10 percent favor no debt.

The proposed legislation provides an assortment of funding suggestions to address different aspects of the bill, and attempts to address both urban and rural roads, while creating stable funding and long-term goals for state road projects.

“I think it’s going to be a positive platform to work from,” Sen. Richard Rosen, R-Bucksport, said.