DOT official presents study on transportation network

BANGOR – As Maine pursues trade and tourism links with neighboring states and Canadian provinces, the Maine Department of Transportation has embarked on a study to measure the adequacy of the region’s transportation network.

The DOT has spent months gathering information from transportation and economic development departments in New Hampshire, Vermont, northern New York, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Ontario, which make up the what the DOT calls the “Northeast Border Corridor.”

The states and provinces have pooled information on their economies and transportation sectors in an effort to identify changes they must make to become a hub of international trade and tourism.

DOT Commissioner David Cole presented an update on the study to the Action Committee of 50, a local economic development advocacy group, at Husson College on Wednesday. The $1 million study, funded by the Federal Highway Administration, was launched in September and is expected to be completed in December. Cole said the department has taken a new approach to transportation analysis by hiring a Boston-based economist to lead the study instead of an engineer.

“The premise of this is what transportation development can do to stimulate economic growth,” Cole said. “The question is, ‘Are we a world-class trade area? Could we be?'”

Preliminary findings indicate that the region has a declining share of international trade action, inefficient border crossings and weak connections among private motor, air, rail and sea carriers, Cole said.

But it’s not all bad news, he said. The region also has a number of advantages. It offers regular airline and ship service to Europe, an educated work force, and numerous universities and research facilities.

There is also a real “cultural affinity” between northern New England and the Maritime Provinces, Cole said.

The ?world economy is evolving ? regionalize or face further decline,? said one slide in Cole?s presentation.

The DOT will hold public meetings on its ongoing study in June or July, and Cole encouraged individuals and businesses to comment on the region?s transportation systems at www.edrgroup.com/northeastborder/.