Late last week Governor Janet T. Mills presented a bond proposal aimed at rebuilding Maine’s transportation systems and conserving lands and waters in honor of famed Maine sportsman George A. Smith, who died in February after a long and courageous battle with ALS according to a press release issued by the Governor office.
The proposal dedicates $100 million to maintain and upgrade Maine’s transportation system through the Maine Department of Transportation and in honor of George A. Smith, it also dedicates $40 million over four years to conserve lands and waters for Maine people through the Land for Maine’s Future (LMF) program.
The $100 million transportation bond represents a critical part of the capitol funding in the Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) three year Work Plan. The bond and matching Federal funds, depending on funding sources and costs, is expected to support capital projects statewide in calendar year 2022, including:
304 miles of highway preservation paving, totaling $109 million; 74 highway safety and spot improvement projects, totaling $ 41 million; 28 miles of highway reconstruction and rehabilitation totaling over $30 million; 68 bridge projects, totaling $169 million; 33 multimodal projects including rail, port, transit and other transportation projects totaling almost $59 million and $8 million for Municipal Partnership Initiative Projects.
According to Federal estimates, this transportation bond and matching funds will support thousands of good-paying jobs now and lay the foundation for economic prosperity in the long-term. If the capital funding for transportation represented by this bond is not provided, Maine DOT will need to dramatically cut back its Work Plan for 2022.
“State funding remains critical to delivering our Work Plan,” said Maine DOT Commissioner Bruce A. Van Note. “Because the bond will be used to match Federal and other funds, the impact of any reduction of bond funding is amplified. We are fortunate that lawmakers and voters have shown strong support for transportation bonds. We hope that remarkable level of support continues.”