“This is good news, and I will continue to do everything I can to support this provision,” said Michaud, a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. “Moving trucks off our local roads and onto the Interstate makes sense. It would be good for our economy, road safety, and our environment.”

The full text of the letter Michaud sent last month can be found below.

October 14, 2011

Dear Chairman Rogers, Ranking Member Dicks, Chairman Inouye, and Ranking Member Cochran:

As you work on a final appropriations package for FY2012, I urge you to retain Section 126 of S.1596, the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act of 2012. This section would renew and make permanent a one-year pilot project on truck weight limits in the State of Maine.

Current law forces heavy trucks traveling in Maine off the Interstate Highway System and on to small, local roads. Throughout 2010 a pilot program temporarily corrected this problem. During that period, I heard from individuals and organizations throughout Maine in support of the change. Fewer trucks rumbled past homes, schools, and hospitals. Information from the Maine Department of Transportation and Maine Department of Public Safety demonstrate the clear safety benefits of allowing these trucks on the Interstate.

Additionally, the pilot program made Maine businesses more competitive. Moving trucks off local roads and onto the Interstate reduces fuel consumption, cuts emissions, reduces travel times, and reduces the competitive disadvantage between Maine and the surrounding states that already allow higher weight limits. For these reasons and more, this change has the support of businesses throughout Maine, as well as the Maine State Legislature, Maine Department of Transportation, Maine Department of Public Safety, Maine State Police and Maine Chiefs of Police Association.

Unfortunately, Congress let this pilot program expire on December 17, 2010, forcing the heaviest trucks back onto Maine’s secondary roads. Since then, countless Mainers have expressed support for making the pilot program permanent. Section 126 of S.1596 would do just that, and I hope that you retain it during final negotiations over an appropriations package for FY2012.

With warmest regards,

MIKE MICHAUD
Member of Congress

Last November, the top federal official for public transit funding—Administrator Peter Rogoff—came to Portland at Congresswoman Chellie Pingree’s invitation to talk to state and local officials about their transportation needs. Rogoff was able to see the area’s needs on a tour of Portland METRO’s garage facility. Today the federal Department of Transportation announced over $3 million for publictransit projects in Portland, South Portland and Sanford.

“To receive these very competitive grants is great news for Maine. We need this critical investment to maintain and strengthen Southern Maine’s public transportation infrastructure,” said Pingree. “With gas prices the way they are, Mainers need different choices for getting back and forth from work, shopping, and doctor’s appointments. Cities have been stretching their resources as far as possible to maintain this service under severe budget pressures. I’m glad they’ll finally be able to make the repairs, replacements, and improvements they’ve been waiting for.”

The Maine Department of Transportation will use the funds for:

· $1.1 million to Portland METRO for critical improvements to the main garage and repair facility, including lift and roof repairs.

· $640,000 for South Portland to replace two buses that have operated over 450,000 miles.

· $1.2 million for a transportation center project in Sanford, which will act as a hub for transportation services offered by the York County Community Action Corporation.

From Bangor to St. Francis and Holden to Bucksport, the potholes, cracks in the roads, and the sometimes impassable bridges damage our vehicles and make it harder for us to get where we need to go.

A recent national transportation study found that 19 percent of our state’s rural roads and 15 percent of all bridges were deficient. 36 percent of Maine’s major rural roads were rated mediocre or fair. In my county, Knox, roads and bridges were among the worst.

These numbers help explain why a recent contest to find the worst road in Maine generated hundreds of photos and stories of collapsed bridges, failed culverts and gaping potholes.

Problems with the Cumberland Street Bridge in Westbrook, which was temporarily closed this week, even made it onto President Obama’s list of reasons for Congress to invest in road improvements and pass his jobs bill.

The bridge is in such bad shape that pieces of it are falling off, after a worker found a 2-foot-by-3-foot hole in the bridge decking.

Lawmakers can not control Maine’s tough weather conditions that harm our roads; but we must prioritize funding to fix them.

A safe and strong transportation network is the foundation of a growing economy.

Our small businesses rely on our roads and bridges to move their products across the state and our working people depend on them to get to their jobs.

Problems with roads can damage our cars, block trucking routes, and- more seriously- cause fatalities.

Rather than making sensible investments in our roads, bridges, and our communities this year, Governor LePage and Republicans in the Legislature were more concerned about appeasing the “slash and burn” rhetoric of the far right.

They cut the highway budget by $230 million and refused to consider a bond package.

Mainers will have to pay for this pound-foolish policy with car repair bills.

The State Legislature must pass a responsible bond package next session to fix our damaged roads and to help improve our communities.

And Congress should pass the president’s jobs bill that invests in improving roads and schools across the country. It will free up money for cash-strapped states to invest in our local infrastructure.

Rep. Chellie Pingree and Rep. Mike Michaud have said Maine would stand to get a minimum of $138 million to fix our roads and bridges, if Congress passes the president’s jobs bill.

That would be a huge help to our state.

We cannot afford to delay targeted investment in Maine’s economy any longer.

The shortsighted road policy on the state level is the worst I’ve seen in my years as a veteran member and former chair of the Transportation Committee.

Public investment is proven to help our communities, from our roads to our schools. It translates to immediate jobs.

Politicians “talk the talk” on job creation, but until leaders take action Maine people will continue to pay the price. This should not be a partisan issue.
Hopefully next year we can hold a contest for the most improved road in the state.

“This is a critical investment to improve the Downeaster line by making it more reliable. If we want to continue to grow its ridership, the line has to make the trip between Maine and Boston as quickly and consistently as possible,” said Pingree. “The Downeaster is a great tool for economic development for the region, but it’s important that we make the needed investments to reach its full potential.”

The funds, which come from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will be used to:

· Add track capacity to reduce congestion and improve performance;
· Improve signaling; and
· Restructure grade crossings to improve on-time reliability of service

Pingree also criticized deep cuts to high-speed rail projects recently proposed in the Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations budget. (The funding announced for the Downeaster today would not be affected.)

“In this struggling economy, we need to create and support jobs. Rail projects like these not only offer work to those who build them, but also to the businesses that develop around them,” said Pingree. “Now is not the time to pull investments from our crumbling and outdated infrastructure. I’m very frustrated in how this proposal would send us backward and could hamper funding for the Downeaster in the future.”

“This money will help Maine’s airports grow and stay competitive while supporting hundreds of jobs. Our airports are a critical piece of our economic infrastructure and it’s important that we take care of them,” said Pingree. “Investments in the Brunswick Executive Airport are especially important as we look to create new uses and job-engines at the site of Brunswick Naval Shipyard.”

Portland International Jetport is receiving $7,837,835 to build a runway safety area, and rehabilitate parts of the runway and taxiway.

Augusta Airport will receive $3,647,736 to make improvements to the runway.

Brunswick Executive Airport will receive $4,159,556 to acquire snow removal equipment, and improve utilities and runway lighting.

“Today’s groundbreaking marks the beginning of an immense undertaking made possible through a strong partnership between US Customs and Border Protection and the US General Services Administration,” said Bob Zarnetske, GSA regional administrator. “CBP and GSA have worked with local officials to design a new port that will use modern technology to enhance border security, speed the flow of commerce and reduce our reliance on foreign energy.”

The new facility, funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is expected to be completed by July 2013. Congressman Mike Michaud and Senator’s Snowe and Collins attended the groundbreaking.

Keith Fleming, area port director said, “With this new facility officers will be able to carry out their critical functions while facilitating trade and meeting the needs of the traveling public.”

The new customs and boarder patrol center will have forest-camouflaged silkscreen-covered glass, geothermal heating and cooling, biodiesel boilers, solar hot water and LED light fixtures. US Green Building Council has the building registered.

The existing port of entry in Van Buren sustained damage during St. John River flooding in 2008. At that time Gov. John Baldacci, of Maine, and Premier Shawn Graham, of New Brunswick, saw the damage first hand and requested reports to substantiate the need for a new facility. As a result Recovery Act funding was allocated. The new 44,000-square-foot facility will occupy a space between Bridge Street and the intersection of routes 1 and 1A.

“As we work to ensure that our country maintains a modern transportation system, safety must continue to be a top concern,” said Michaud. “In rural states like Maine, where travel options are often limited to roads, roadway safety is even more important. With fatalities on the rise in New England states, the case for acting is even stronger.”

According to the most recent data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2008, Maine had the fourth highest percentage of fatal crashes on rural roads in the nation. These crashes represented 90 percent of the state’s road fatalities for that year. A fact sheet released in 2009 that compares fatal rural and urban motor vehicle crashes in 2008 can be found here . Early estimates from 2010 data indicate that New England states have seen an 18 percent increase in fatal crashes over 2009.

Nationally, road travelers are 2 ∏ times more likely to die on a rural road than on an urban one. Although rural roads bear only 40 percent of all travel, 56.7 percent of annual deaths occur on them.

Congress created the High Risk Rural Roads program in 2005 in the last update of federal transportation programs. This program authorized $90 million each year for all 50 states. Even with the use of low cost safety solutions, these funds were stretched dramatically thin. In addition, the definition of “high risk rural road” was restrictive, which added to the states’ difficulty in accessing the funds.

The High Risk Rural Roads Safety Act of 2011 will address these problems and invest $400 million annually for cost effective roadway safety infrastructure improvements to help reduce fatalities and create jobs. Additionally, it will target rural road safety investments to help keep rural residents as safe as possible. Such improvements, which can include improved signs and pavement markings, guardrail and cable barrier installation, and rumble strips, are generally low cost and yield tremendous returns on investment.