A bipartisan task force has devised a plan to close an estimated $130 million gap in state transportation funding. The proposal’s reliance on borrowing, however, puts it at risk.

Despite statewide support for investment in roads and bridges, the plan could be a nonstarter this year because it contains $60 million in new borrowing.

There appears to be little support among Republican legislators for new state borrowing.

We can identify two reasons: First, many Republicans oppose borrowing on principle, even when it’s for something as worthwhile as improving the state’s infrastructure. State debt and borrowing is also an effective stick to swing at Gov. Baldacci during an election year. With their eyes on the governor’s mansion and legislative majority, Republicans might not want to give up an issue on which they think they have an advantage over Democrats.

During the budget fights of 2005, the governor proposed a plan that relied heavily on borrowing, to the tune of $450 million. Republicans, led by state Sen. Peter Mills, who’s also running for governor, led an impressive grass-roots fight to have the budget overturned. Seeing the political writing on the wall, Democrats relented and passed a budget without the massive new debt.

The issue, however, got good traction with voters. New borrowing this year, even for transportation, might mute the issue in the gubernatorial race.

Last year, the state Department of Transportation said that it would have to postpone about 20 percent of its planned projects for the next two years because costs had increased and federal funding had not kept pace.

The governor put together a bipartisan group to come up with recommendations to overcome the funding problems. The panel made some headway working with the DOT. The group put together a new priority list for projects and changed some of the engineering requirements to make construction less expensive. The group is also counting on salary savings from the department.

That leaves a shortfall of about $75 million, $60 million of which would come from borrowing and $15 million from the general fund.

In the past, Democrats have been reluctant to direct money from the General Fund for transportation projects and Republicans have opposed borrowing. It takes a two-thirds vote in the Legislature to put a bond question on the ballot. One party can’t do it alone.

The question, however, shapes up like this: Will state senators and representatives, facing election themselves, deny funding for road projects that affect their constituents? Will they create that issue for their opponents?

While there’s a lot of grumbling about the state’s level of borrowing, four of five bond questions passed easily, including more than $33 million for transportation. The fifth failed by a slight margin.

We can already hear the political calculators whirring.