Contemplating a career change? Finishing high school and trying to decide what to do after that? Let me share a little secret that could lead anyone to fortune: become a professional automobile service technician.

Why? Because Gov. Baldacci has sealed the fate of all Maine motorists in his most recent transportation bond proposal. His proposed bond of $38 million represents the smallest biennial transportation bond since the 1993-94 biennium. Moreover, of the $38 million, only $27.75 million is slated for highways and bridges. But hold on to your armrests. It gets even better. Of the $27.75 million in the transportation bond, a full $12 million is earmarked for the Waldo-Hancock Bridge, leaving a total of $15.75 million to improve the entire state’s roads and bridges.

What does this mean for the traveling public? First of all, we should all learn how to do alignments on our vehicles. Secondly, perhaps we could form a community watch group to monitor our state-maintained bridges. A full one-third of these bridges are within 10 years of reaching the end of their useful life. That should be a comforting feeling for just about everyone.

Perhaps driving on Maine’s roads and bridges can become a sport. Maybe we could call it “white-knuckled pothole jumping” and give out prizes.

Todd R. Sawyer, Waterford

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