Do you favor a $63,450,000 bond issue for improvements to highways and bridges, airports, state-owned ferry vessels and ferry and port facilities and port and harbor structures; development of rail corridors and improvements to railroad structures and intermodal facilities; investment in the statewide public transportation fleet and public park and ride and service facilities; statewide trail and pedestrian improvements; and expansion of the statewide air-medical response system through construction of hospital helipads, building additional refueling facilities, upgrading navigational systems and acquiring training equipment to improve access to health care that makes the State eligible for $217,000,000 in matching federal funds?

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This question follows a long line of transportation bonds that offer something for everyone. The projects that would be funded touch all parts of the state. From hiking trails to airport runways, all modes of transport are addressed, including, for the first time, the rescue helicopter that serves Maine.

The broad appeal is not just a matter of smart politics, it is one of economic survival. For many years, the state’s Highway Fund, bankrolled by fuel taxes and motor-vehicle fees, has failed to generate nearly enough revenue to keep pace with the state’s growing backlog of needed transportation maintenance and improvements. The $42 million for highway and bridge improvements includes the most persuasive evidence for maintaining the state’s infrastructure, a $4 million down payment for the Waldo- Hancock Bridge, which was found to be in dilapidated condition earlier this year and is now under restricted use.

In addition to the utter necessity of a positive vote for roads and bridges, voters should keep a few other points in mind. The $4.5 million for port and ferry improvements would attract a $4 million federal match to replace the Gov. Curtis ferry serving Vinalhaven. Nearly $8 million going to railroads would repair track from Portland to Brunswick, upgrade the lines for the Montreal Maine & Atlantic, develop rail sidings and a warehouse in Calais and improve industrial access to rail lines statewide.

The bond would spend $3 million to support construction and improvements to hospital helipads, weather reporting at airports and partial funding for an advanced computer simulator system for continuing medical education. It would be matched by private funding. The bond’s total amount of matching federal funding, $217 million, is immediate economic development leading to long-term economic development.

The link between good transportation and a robust economy is undeniable at any time. At this particular time, the potential of transportation-related construction jobs to energize a drooping economy cannot be ignored. Thanks to chronic underfunding of transportation projects throughout Maine, the question of whether to pass Question 6 is easily answered, with the only remaining regret that the bond was not larger.