The Maine Turnpike Authority represents a basically good idea that needs updating. That could arrive with LD 208 — a bill by Sen. Douglas Thomas (R-Somerset County), a four-term Transportation Committee member — which would undertake the first serious turnpike study in 30 years.

Thomas’ bill is a model of simplicity and clarity. It would establish a nine-member commission that would study three options for the turnpike: Leasing to a private company, merger with the Department of Transportation, or greater DOT oversight.

Thomas himself is a persistent critic of transportation spending at all levels. He believes, unrealistically in my view, that the state has adequate money to maintain and improve roads, and needs only improved efficiency. But Thomas has special scorn for the turnpike authority, which he told a reporter is a “good ’ol boy” network that’s made “100 miles of highway into an industry.”

A new report from OPEGA, the Legislature’s watchdog agency, gives credence to Thomas’ characterization. OPEGA found that on one of the principal allegations, that the turnpike is not transferring surpluses to DOT, the law is murky. But it found no ambiguity in the authority’s habits of wining and dining contractors, and in contributing to a variety of organizations, including the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, Maine Grocers Association and GrowSmart Maine.

Spokesman Scott Tompkins justified the spending by saying the turnpike authority operates more like a business than a government agency – which comes to a big surprise to those who believe it is a government agency.

The ambiguity in the turnpike’s role goes back to the beginning – as do the public problems and resentments that persist decades after its founding.

The turnpike authority was created in 1941 to build a limited-access highway as an alternative to Route 1 in southern Maine, which then required a half-day drive to get from Kittery to Augusta. World War II slowed things, but the first section, from York to Portland, was completed in 1947. The second and final section to Augusta opened in 1956. By then, the Interstate Highway Act had passed Congress, making free interstates rather than toll highways the national standard.

Maine was a pioneer in building modern limited-access highways, and in creating revenue bonds, repaid through tolls, to finance construction. This solved the problem of either fronting a huge amount of money, or levying a major tax, before construction could begin.

But subsequent events diverted the turnpike from its original route, from “the vicinity of” Kittery to “the vicinity of” Fort Kent.” Because the interstate program took over, and I-95 made it only to Houlton, the turnpike became a symbol of the “two Maines.”

Drivers in southern Maine – particularly York County and Lewiston-Auburn – resent paying tolls while the rest of the interstate system is free. Drivers in northern Maine resent having no access to modern highways. Thomas’ commission wouldn’t bridge this chasm, but bringing the turnpike and DOT under one roof would provide the structure to do so.

The commission won’t likely find privatization attractive. The only U.S. toll road to take that course, the Chicago Skyway, is instructive. In 2004 Illinois got a $1.8 billion up-front payment, but also gave permission to the Spanish-Australian leasing consortium to double tolls within 10 years, and continue increasing them afterward. Politicians didn’t want to increase tolls so they off-loaded responsibility.

That history is strongly relevant to Maine. Overall, the turnpike has increased tolls to keep up with maintenance and construction needs. But the gasoline and diesel taxes that fund DOT’s budget fall far short. These taxes are currently indexed to inflation – unlike the federal tax, which hasn’t budged since 1993 – but indexing started from an inadequate level.

In this respect, transportation advocates are fooling themselves. As Tompkins put it, they consider the fuel tax “the dinosaur of funding mechanisms” when, in fact, it works just fine. The more you drive, the more you pay, and the heavier your vehicle, the more gasoline it uses: All perfectly well understood by the driving public.

It’s actually the turnpike toll that’s the dinosaur. Private companies were collecting them just after the Revolution, with “turning the pike” — opening the gate to a horse and carriage — the origin of the name.

For the foreseeable future, we’ll need both tolls and fuel taxes to keep the system going. There’s no new tax or fee that will win the public’s fancy.

Bringing turnpike and DOT together will save money on administration, and end the turnpike authority’s confusion over whether it’s public or private. After that, we’ll need to get serious about how much we’re willing to pay for our roads.