“Do you favor adding one travel lane in each direction to the southern end of the Maine Turnpike, paid for by turnpike tolls, to reduce accidents and congestion?”

If the issue were whether the bottlenecked 30 miles of Turnpike between York and South Portland ever needed to be widened, this might be a tough call. But since the debate really is a quibble over a few years, the answer to Question 6 is that sooner is better than later.

Likewise if this were a Southern Maine vs. Northern Maine tussle, if the $58 million — raised from tolls, not taxes — were coming at the expense of other state roads, if the Maine Turnpike Authority had refused to explore other options, if the project were about pleasing the sand and gravel crowd and not about safety, commerce and convenience. But it’s none of those.

The turnpike is Maine’s connection to the outside world. The turnpike is as vital to Aroostook potato farmers and Downeast fishermen as it is to Kennebunkport innkeepers. The turnpike is our central artery for people and products and this antiquated section, where three lanes in each direction squeeze down to two, is clogged. A 1947 road handling 1997 traffic is a hazard to public safety and to the state’s economy.

First, the time element. If this question is approved by voters Tuesday, the widening project will spend up to three years in the environmental permitting process, followed by five to seven years for construction. A consultant hired by the project’s leading opponent, the Natural Resources Council of Maine, said last year the turnpike will not be filled to capacity for another 11 to 16 years. Given that the two-lane stretch has an accident rate 72 percent higher than the three lane section, given that congestion-caused delays are an increasing impediment to business, given that the cost of building roads only increases, the difference of a few years simply is not worth it.

Money and other myths

The primary argument used against the widening is that the $58 million could be used to attract some $200 million in federal matching funds creating a huge pool of money that could be better spent on other roads in greater need.

It just isn’t so. The turnpike authority does not have $58 million gathering dust, the federal government is not sitting on an unclaimed $200 million. If voters approve, the authority will borrow the $58 million and pay it back in full by increasing tolls, the ultimate user fee. If the widening is not approved, the authority won’t borrow the money, and there will be no toll increase to spend elsewhere. Those who want to do something for other roads in Maine should support Question 4, allowing the Department of Transportation to borrow $56.8 million to leverage Maine’s allotment of $130 million in federal funds.

In 1991, voters passed the Sensible Transportation Policy Act, telling the authority to hold off on the widening until other options were explored. The authority did that, forming a 21-member public advisory committee and holding hearings. Buses, trains, carpooling, congestion pricing, new toll collection strategies were explored, and to some degree implemented, but the study concluded that the widening still was necessary. The authority did not ignore the will of the voters, it complied.

The authority, as opponents charge, did not pull a fast one by spending $40 million to widen bridges. Most of that work was done outside of this contested corridor, it’s primary purpose was to get the overpass supports out of the breakdown lanes. It was a common-sense upgrade to alleviate a substantial hazard.

And, the authority has not shunned its duty to turn revenue surpluses over to the Department of Transportation. Seeing the need for the turnpike to be self-supporting from tolls (with 60 percent coming from out-of-staters), the Legislature capped the contribution at $4.7 million and the turnpike has met that obligation. The Legislature also strictly limited the authority’s ability to borrow for needs other than its own. Since 1983, the turnpike has contributed more than $100 million to state roads and borrowed $168 million for its own construction projects. Taking on debt of $68 million can hardly be considered holding out.

Opponents also charge the real cause of congestion is the toll booths, six miles short of the bottleneck. In fact, the authority has used the number of open booths as a way to control entry to the turnpike, the idea being that too many vehicles waiting in line is better than too many vehicles trying to merge from three lanes to two. Backups at the booths are a sign of the problem, not the problem itself.

Widening this section of the turnpike, will not result in the “New Jerseyfication” of Maine, or even the “Bostonization.” This long-overdue project, paid for by those who use it, will do nothing more than bring a 1940s road up to modern standards. Voters should support Question 6 on Nov. 4.