Maine governor John Baldacci’s proposal to raise $160 million over four years to fix and preserve state bridges was unveiled April 8, and the Legislature’s Transportation Committee voted in favor of the bill, LD 2313, two days later.
The bill comes nearly five months after a report that urged a significant increase in funding for bridge replacements and repairs in Maine.
Maine is one of many states that assessed its bridges for safety after last August’s I-35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis.
“The tragedy last year in Minneapolis showed the world that we must remain vigilant when it comes to our bridges,” Baldacci said in a statement announcing his proposal.
A follow-up report from the assessment, released in November, listed two dozen recommendations, including increasing the $70 million in annual spending on repairs and replacements by another $50 to $60 million. The report also called for more than doubling the annual number of bridge replacements to 30 or 40.
Baldacci’s plan envisions 246 bridge projects, including 80 bridge replacements statewide, to be financed through new revenue bonds and existing resources.
The bill would authorize revenue bonds of $40 million per year for four years. To pay them off, three annual motor vehicle fees would be increased: motor vehicle registration fees from $25 to $35, title fees from $23 to $33 and vanity plate fees from $15 to $25.
The bill "takes what the Department [of Transportation], the governor and the committee [have] identified as what is really a crisis in our infrastructure," said Rep. Boyd P. Marley, D-Portland, House chairman of the Transportation Committee. "This one is going to save us millions of dollars in the future, as well as make our bridges safer."
The MBTA and Baldacci both state that the bridge projects would prompt economic activity and create jobs.
The bill now moves to the House of Representatives for a vote.
