Voters approve $89 million bond package.
PORTLAND – A $63.5 million transportation bond issue to improve Maine’s highways and help replace a crippled bridge was overwhelmingly approved Tuesday by voters in a state referendum.
Voters also endorsed a $6.9 million bond for environmental projects and a $19 million borrowing measure for educational investments.
Unofficial returns from 45 percent of the state’s 649 precincts showed the transportation bonds winning 66 percent of the vote.
The pollution control bonds drew 61 percent, while the school and library bonds had 55 percent support.
A spokeswoman for the Keep Maine Moving Coalition that led the campaign for the transportation bonds said the outcome showed that voters recognize that Maine’s roads and bridges are in need of work.
“The Waldo-Hancock Bridge is a symbol of what can happen if we don’t invest enough in our infrastructure,” said Maria Fuentes, executive director of the Maine Better Transportation Association.
The bonds were on a ballot that featured hot referendum questions on casino gambling and tax relief, issues that appeared to be drawing unusually heavy off-year traffic to the polls.
The $89.3 million bond package was introduced by Gov. John Baldacci and shaped by the Legislature as part of his strategy to stimulate Maine’s economy.
Question 4, a $6.9 million environmental bond issue, would draw more than $14 million in matching funds.
The total includes funds for new and upgraded sewage treatment systems, hazardous waste cleanups, replacement of wastewater discharge systems and improvements in drinking water systems.
Question 5 sought $19 million for state university and community college system campuses across Maine, as well as Maine Maritime Academy and public libraries.
The community colleges, which have been bursting with new enrollments, would get $12 million of the total, while the UMaine System would get $4.5 million.
The transportation bond issue, Question 6 on the ballot, was the most heavily promoted of the three borrowing proposals.
A coalition of transportation, business, tourism and economic development interests supporting the $63.5 million package stressed it would draw at least $217 million in federal matching funds and generate thousands of jobs.
Unplanned events also increased the level of urgency surrounding the bond package. It includes $4 million toward replacement of the Waldo-Hancock Bridge, whose cables have deteriorated during its seven decades of service carrying U.S. Route 1 traffic over the Penobscot River.
Last summer, the Department of Transportation closed the bridge to heavy trucks and buses because of its weakened condition. Its suspension system has since been strengthened and the Prospect-to-Verona bridge has been reopened to all traffic.
Much of the remaining bonds would raise money for the state’s two-year transportation program, which includes 2,000 miles of highway resurfacing, 180 miles of highway reconstruction and 80 bridges.
Other components of the package include railroads, ports and ferries, airports, walkways and bikeways. Among the rail projects would be additional work on a rail passenger line from Portland to Brunswick.
New helipads at 18 hospitals and improvements at six others would be financed by $3 million of the transportation money earmarked for LifeFlight of Maine, the emergency air service.
AP-ES-11-04-03 2230EST
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