Highway Robbery: Transportation Budget Raided Under the Cover of Darkness
Funding Shifted While More Than 300 Bridges Failing Federal Standards
April 7, 2024, Augusta, Maine – Maine legislators, in the cover of darkness, slammed through a partisan budget raiding the state’s highway fund, while making substantive changes to the way roads and bridges are funded in the future. Ironically, while Maine’s citizens were recovering from a blizzard that left half of the state “in the dark”, the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee voted late at night to eliminate up to $60 million in critical transportation projects beginning on July 1 and for every year thereafter.
Funding roads and bridges is widely supported by the public, and the MaineDOT budget also supports the state’s public transit, multi-modal, and active transportation priorities. While many of Maine’s citizens were without power from another storm, policymakers in Augusta decided to divert critical funds needed to help the state build greater resiliency for the climate events scientists agree will only increase in the future.
Additionally, rejecting decades of precedent, the Committee moved to grab more power by taking control of the highway fund budgeting process, which has long been the purview of the Legislature’s Transportation Committee.
The Transportation Committee has managed the Highway Fund Budget, which includes hundreds of millions of constitutionally protected Highway Fund dollars, through public hearings and various work sessions, for agencies including MaineDOT, the Maine State Police, and the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. The Committee has historically worked collaboratively, to forward bipartisan budget documents based on input from public interest groups, and regular Maine citizens.
“It’s unconscionable that the committee of jurisdiction (Transportation) was excluded from this decision – also left out from this seismic shift was the general public, those working in the transportation industry, municipalities, and other stakeholders,” said Maria Fuentes, executive director of Maine Better Transportation Association. “Sweeping policy changes on how transportation infrastructure is funded should not happen in the dark of night, without public input, and while people were dealing with widespread power outages.”
If passed, the budget will create an even deeper hole for Maine to address the growing backlog of transportation needs. Fuentes estimates that MaineDOT may be forced to slash hundreds of millions of dollars from its current work plan, which uses state dollars to leverage vital federal dollars, and funds significant safety projects throughout the state including those that support economic development, safety, and climate-resilient projects throughout Maine.
Maine has more than 300 bridges rated structurally deficient, and the latest infrastructure report card from the American Society of Civil Engineers (Maine Section) issued a “D” grade for their condition. Maine’s rural roads are ranked at the bottom compared with the other states, coming in 10th in the country for worst condition.
“Maine’s government has collected record revenues in the last few years, and it defies logic and legislative precedent to put aside our obligation to ensure roads and bridges are safe and reliable. We are disheartened by the actions of the majority caucus on the Appropriations Committee, and hope they reconsider,” said Fuentes.
MBTA launched a new website dedicated to informing the public on the condition of state transportation infrastructure: www.fixitnowmaine.org.