Maine has managed to carve out a path that many others have forgotten how to follow: the road of cooperation, foresight and quiet competence.

For too long, Maine’s transportation infrastructure felt like it was being held together with skinny mix and duct tape. The result wasn’t just inconvenience. It was a hidden tax on everyday life: $1,800 per driver each year in regions like Portland, thanks to vehicle wear, accidents and clogged roads, according to the research nonprofit TRIP.

However, in the last legislative session, something quietly revolutionary occurred. Legislators from both parties, alongside the governor, did the unglamorous work of budgeting wisely. They redirected a portion of the sales tax from vehicle purchases and equipment to stabilize transportation infrastructure funding, not only for roads and bridges, but for non-highway modes. Importantly, they united to protect the funding when there were efforts to backtrack last year.

This year, Maine’s lawmakers doubled down on that commitment by backing a balanced Highway Fund budget and advancing measures to shore up storm preparedness. This isn’t merely a story about asphalt and bridge supports. It’s about the infrastructure of trust — about what happens when public servants treat governance as a calling rather than a combat sport.

Maine’s Transportation Committee shows us that politics don’t have to be a zero-sum game. It can be a shared project, rooted in mutual respect and common sense.

My thanks to the legislators, from both parties, for serving as watchdogs to ensure transportation is funded wisely.

Erik Wiberg
Falmouth