Plan to Build a Private Highway Bisecting Maine Draws Mixed Reviews

In the Sunday Times

Plan for Toll Road to Speed Travel in Maine Hits a Nerve

oppose!

how will this help Maine's economy? destroying Maine's nature, to help Canada ship by land? no thanx, I like our infra structure, one main highway that connects the most populated towns. With rds., north and west off that highway that lead to some of the cooler/prettier/more remote spots of new england!! How about the $ for that highway go to re-paving what we have, something all Mainers cars would appreciate! Alas, that won't happend because this is about making money, rant over..

Also see the previous thread on the east-west proposal.

Guess what, there already is a private highway bisecting half the state that connects up to a road network that covers about 1/4 of the state. The road system was built with no state funding and minimal environmental oversight. Look up the Golden Road.

I live in one of the towns in the line of fire. You can't go by two houses without seeing a sign against the road. All the local papers letters to the editors have maybe 1 out of 10 letters if they are lucky in favor. It seems like everyone I heard for the road doesn't live near the corridor. Most people agree the information given by supporters (Cianbro, Sen Doug Thomas, etc) is ambigious at best. They are not very pesuasive salesmen.
BTW I would hardly call the Golden Road a highway. Sure trucks barrel ass down it but it is in such rough shape at places I would be hesitant to take a low clearance car down it.

Environmentalists say the road would be a “nightmare” for the land, air and animal habitats as well as for recreational activities. The private financing has also raised red flags. A 2009 report by the United States Public Interest Research Group Education Fund found that some other privately financed toll roads had failed, leaving taxpayers responsible.

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Beware Maine : The folks who seek to socialize the losses while privatizing the gains are everywhere.

Papa Bear said:

In the Sunday Times

Plan for Toll Road to Speed Travel in Maine Hits a Nerve

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Environmental issues must be addressed, I'm in total agreement with that. On the other hand there were some things in that article that touched a sore nerve with me.

I've lived here in Maine for 12 years. Granted that doesn't make me a true Mainer--I wasn't born here. But I've run into one attitude over and over in local politics here. Part of THE WAY LIFE SHOULD BE seems to be that we must oppose change not based on it's true merits but simply because it's change.

Everyone I know complains about how hard it is to get from East to West and yet when a proposition is made to do something about it the screaming begins. It took a local contractor I know well over three years just to get a permit to build a McDonald's here in Bridgton. We've never had one of those before. I guess that's all part of THE WAY LIFE SHOULD BE.

Anyone have $100 billion they can give to the Nature Conservancy so that they can buy 1/2 of the state of Maine (and never change any of it)?

Ed'n Lauky said:

Environmental issues must be addressed, I'm in total agreement with that. On the other hand there were some things in that article that touched a sore nerve with me.

I've lived here in Maine for 12 years. Granted that doesn't make me a true Mainer--I wasn't born here. But I've run into one attitude over and over in local politics here. Part of THE WAY LIFE SHOULD BE seems to be that we must oppose change not based on it's true merits but simply because it's change.

Everyone I know complains about how hard it is to get from East to West and yet when a proposition is made to do something about it the screaming begins. It took a local contractor I know well over three years just to get a permit to build a McDonald's here in Bridgton. We've never had one of those before. I guess that's all part of THE WAY LIFE SHOULD BE.

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No offense but things are the way they are. So why mess with it?

Yeah, you're probably right. That's what I generally hear around here and I don't think that mentality is going to change much, at least in my lifetime. It does remind me though of some of the great "What ifs" of history. Such as when Columbus proposed to Queen Isabella that she finance his trip west over the ocean to get to the East Indies to which she replied:

skiguy said:

No offense but things are the way they are. So why mess with it?

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To many who grew up and have roots in the area, things arent good they way they are. There used to be a far more thriving woods industry that had a much large employment base in many of the communities along the potential routes. Over the decades they have been forced out due to lack of work despite having lived there for many years. Any local children with any talents are "counseled" by their parents and teachers to leave as they dont have a future locally. Many of the year round woods jobs are now seasonal generally staffed by canadians that have better unemployment benefits and healthcare so they can survive when the woods are closed. In the eastern section of the highway, the conditions for locals are destitute, with significant drug addiction issues and a large volume of property crimes attributed to drug addicts. Even if someone wants to stay in the area, services are getting farther and farther away as the population base moves away. The only real industry that has displaced a small portion of the woods industry work is the tourism business and that work is generally seasonal at even lower pay and no benefits. To get an idea of a what happens to a rural town along the route that has lost its industry and is trying to survive on tourism, just look at Monson Me. Most of the hiker services with the exception of Shaws is a rotating door where someone from out of town moves in opens a business, survives one summer season and then starves the next winter unless they can figrue a way to make a buck on snowmachiners heading up to Greenville. The route of the highway may go near their town, I expect that for the majorty of the folks they would welcome direct access to a east west major highway.

I dont agree with the contention that the only use of the road will be by canadian truckers, Over the years of hiking the AT, I saw a couple of rural interstates built and in many cases every year I went by where the highways had opened I saw signs of some new development. I see quite a bit of personal vehicle traffic drving on RT 2 between souterhn Ontario and the Maritimes and I expect this traffic will shift north of the new highway.

To someone from southern maine or west of the state line that thinks things are fine the way it is and if their vision is to drive away the traditional population and eventually lock up the land in wilderness then the highway is threat to their vision. If on the other hand people support mutiple use of the Maine woods, many aspects of the plan make sense.

Realistically the highway is years away if at all. There are far greater threats to the Maine woods, including the recent dimunition of the powers of the LURC.

A lot of the arguments ring similiar to the adirondacks, the locals who have to earn a living always object to expansions of the preserve as it makes their lives harder but they are always shouted out by the folks from elsewhere that want it to be their idealized vision. When you drive up the ADK BBQ keep an close eye out on the houses you can see and I expect if you talk with one of the hosts who lived there that earning a living is tough thing to do.

peakbagger said:

I dont agree with the contention that the only use of the road will be by canadian truckers, Over the years of hiking the AT, I saw a couple of rural interstates built and in many cases every year I went by where the highways had opened I saw signs of some new development. I see quite a bit of personal vehicle traffic drving on RT 2 between souterhn Ontario and the Maritimes and I expect this traffic will shift north of the new highway.

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Ever driven from Orono to Houlton? Not a lot of economic development along that stretch of rural interstate. What makes you think this private road will be any different? In my opinion, this toll road definitely looks like it is designed to benefit Canadian truckers and make a few people a lot of money.

Ed'n Lauky said:

Yeah, you're probably right. That's what I generally hear around here and I don't think that mentality is going to change much, at least in my lifetime. It does remind me though of some of the great "What ifs" of history. Such as when Columbus proposed to Queen Isabella that she finance his trip west over the ocean to get to the East Indies to which she replied:

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Here is a prime example of where I really miss being able to give a greenie

It won't get funded. The same money could be spent where people actually live and are willing to pay tolls.

And it wouldn't change anything other than hurt the environment. The whole article is silly and doesn't make much sense, Maine is a consumer state and chased most of it's manufacturing out years ago. No ship is going to pass 10 good ports in pro-growth states like GA, SC, NC, VA, NJ, NY, CT, RI, MA and NH to get to Maine and still be hundreds of miles away from people.

I wouldn't worry about this one too much.