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Maine's Poor Roads Add to Car Costs and May Lead to Deaths

July 15, 2009 - AUGUSTA -- Maine's crumbling transportation infrastructure adds an average of $282 a year to every Maine motorist's car repair bill and might lead to up to 65 annual traffic deaths, according to a new report by the Maine Development Foundation.

The foundation concluded that a lack of investment in the state's highways and bridges is threatening Maine's economy and quality of life, and called on state leaders to reverse the trend.

The new report was paid for partly by the Maine Better Transportation Association, which promotes transportation funding for its 700 members, including municipalities and businesses.

"These bridges and highways serve as critical links for Maine communities, and every day that we let them fall into further disrepair costs us lost lives, lost income and lost economic potential," said Laurie Lachance, president and chief executive officer of the foundation, in a prepared statement.

The report, released Monday, comes as the Department of Transportation grapples with dwindling funds.

The department canceled $30 million worth of paving projects across the state last month, citing declining revenue from gas taxes. The Legislature directed members of its Transportation Committee to meet this summer to find new revenue sources to pay for necessary projects.

Although the Maine Development Foundation report did not come up with any funding solutions, it highlighted data and research from a variety of sources, such as the Federal Highway Administration and the National Transportation Research Group, to make a case for more investment in the state's existing road system. Among the conclusions:

• Maine motorists pay more than $260 million statewide for motor vehicle repairs, higher fuel use and tire wear caused by deteriorating roads.

• One-third of the 200 fatal crashes in Maine every year could be due to poor or antiquated road design.

• Closed bridges and deficient roads increase the cost of products transported by trucks because of delays and detours.

• Weight limits are placed on 1,600 to 2,000 miles of mostly rural roads not built to modern engineering standards each spring during mud season, hurting Maine's rural businesses.

Ed Cervone, the foundation program director, said Maine's deteriorating roads hinder forestry and construction businesses.

"They can be effectively locked out by weight restrictions on roads in the spring," he said.

Maine DOT officials said there is no way to know whether one-third of the fatal traffic accidents in the state are caused by deficient roads. There are too many variables to prove or disprove the estimates by the Federal Highway Administration, said Duane Brunell, safety performance analysis manager for the department.

The Maine Development Foundation, a nonprofit think tank created by the governor and Legislature in 1978 to promote Maine's economy, released another report earlier this year with the DOT. That report looked at how businesses depend on the state's roadway system.

Sen. Dennis Damon, D-Trenton, co-chairman of the Transportation Committee, said he agrees with the new report's conclusions. He said only half of the 8,400 miles of state roads are built to meet modern engineering standards.

"It is those 4,200 miles of roads the committee is wrestling with," Damon said.

Substandard roads require repavement every seven years, said Damon. That means the state should be paving about 600 miles at a cost of $25 million a year. But this year, the state had to reach into other transportation accounts to scrape up $8 million, enough to pave about 230 miles, and the state has no money budgeted for repaving next year.

"That is where we are," he said.

He said his committee might find that the only solution will be to increase revenue through higher fuel taxes, replace the fuel tax with a sales tax, or take some other measure that will be equally unpalatable for legislators heading into an election year.

Damon said that every year, the funds allocated for transportation – set at $1.2 billion this year by lawmakers – represent a smaller percentage of the state budget. The Maine Better Transportation Association estimates that transportation took up 26 percent of the state budget in the 1970s, compared with 10 percent today.

Rep. Douglas Thomas, R-Ripley, said he doesn't dispute the importance of a transportation system to maintain a strong economy, but he doesn't agree that raising fuel taxes would solve the problem.

Instead, said Thomas, the Maine DOT needs to become more efficient. Thomas said the state could save money by hiring more private contractors and doing less construction work in-house.

He said Mainers cannot afford more taxes to fund road repairs right now.

"Yes, we need good roads, and yes, it is important to our economy, but how much do we ask people to pay when some of us don't think our money is being spent as wisely as it should be?" Thomas asked.

By BETH QUIMBY, Staff Writer, Portland Press Herald, July 14, 2009


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