JAY – Maine transportation officials must prioritize the state’s needs over the next two decades to get the most for the money invested as the state deals with an aging infrastructure, growing demand and rising construction costs.
State transportation representatives discussed priorities as well as strategic planning for all modes of transportation for the next 20 years during a Western Maine Transportation Forum on Wednesday at LaFleur’s Restaurant in Jay.
The state is entering an era of limited resources, and good planning is going to be necessary, said Gregory Nadeau, state transportation deputy commissioner for policy, planning and communications.
As with any plan, Nadeau said, you need to “decide where you’re going and then figure out how you’re going to get there.”
The direction that Maine takes was the subject of Wednesday’s forum, and will be discussed at several similar sessions planned around the state to gather input as the state prepares to develop its long-range plan.
Projections show that $20 billion will be needed between 2005 to 2025 to address transportation needs, including what municipalities spend on roads a year, said Dale Doughty, assistant director of the DOT Bureau of Planning.
Another topic at the forefront was developing new funding sources to replace the dependency on gas tax revenues as more people opt to drive hybrid vehicles and take advantage of alternative transportation.
Carl Croce, director of the DOT Bureau of Planning, said the state’s highway budget is currently supported by money from the gas tax, motor vehicle registrations and violations, bonds, the general fund and federal sources.
State sources such as the fuel tax and registrations also support other state agencies, he said, including state police and the Department of Environmental Protection.
Nadeau said the “challenge is clear. I’m not hearing any dispute about the needs … but the funding challenges are real.”
The options on the table include adding a tax on mileage, requiring transit impact fees on developers, charging truckers more, and forcing congestion so that people choose other transportation alternatives.
Conrad Welzel, the manager of government and community services for the Maine Turnpike Authority, said that he foresees the use of tolls to support the state’s highways in the future.
“Tolls for a variety of reasons could play a role in solving some of the transportation woes,” Welzel said.
Maine has 22,750 miles of public roads and the state owns 8,400 of those miles, twice as many as New Hampshire owns and more than three times more than Vermont owns.
The state DOT is also responsible for 2,967 bridges of all sizes and on all types of public roads.
Nadeau said that in order to do sound planning, officials cannot separate transportation planning from land-use and economic planning.
Transportation is the major backbone of the economy, DOT Commissioner David Cole said. Most of the goods in Maine are moved by truck.
The state will try to incorporate economic trends, an aging population, tourism and demographic and technological changes into transportation planning, Nadeau said.
Though the transportation problems the state is dealing with appear overwhelming, Cole said, “I’m actually quite optimistic about the state. I think there is going to be opportunity all over the state.”
Comments are no longer available on this story