{"id":62373,"date":"2022-03-09T12:10:22","date_gmt":"2022-03-09T17:10:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.themainemag.com\/?p=62373"},"modified":"2022-03-09T13:30:09","modified_gmt":"2022-03-09T18:30:09","slug":"has-maines-transportation-system-reached-the-end-of-the-road","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.themainemag.com\/has-maines-transportation-system-reached-the-end-of-the-road\/","title":{"rendered":"Has Maine\u2019s Transportation System Reached the End of the Road?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignfull is-stacked-on-mobile\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"840\" height=\"840\" src=\"https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054425\/POTHOLE_OPENER_WORKING_EMPTY.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-62401 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054425\/POTHOLE_OPENER_WORKING_EMPTY.jpg 840w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054425\/POTHOLE_OPENER_WORKING_EMPTY-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054425\/POTHOLE_OPENER_WORKING_EMPTY-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054425\/POTHOLE_OPENER_WORKING_EMPTY-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054425\/POTHOLE_OPENER_WORKING_EMPTY-230x230.jpg 230w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054425\/POTHOLE_OPENER_WORKING_EMPTY-700x700.jpg 700w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054425\/POTHOLE_OPENER_WORKING_EMPTY-475x475.jpg 475w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054425\/POTHOLE_OPENER_WORKING_EMPTY-250x250.jpg 250w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054425\/POTHOLE_OPENER_WORKING_EMPTY-350x350.jpg 350w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054425\/POTHOLE_OPENER_WORKING_EMPTY-500x500.jpg 500w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054425\/POTHOLE_OPENER_WORKING_EMPTY-301x301.jpg 301w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054425\/POTHOLE_OPENER_WORKING_EMPTY-600x600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054425\/POTHOLE_OPENER_WORKING_EMPTY-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-has-maine-s-transportation-system-reached-the-end-of-the-road\" style=\"font-size:40px\">Has Maine\u2019s Transportation System Reached the End of the Road?<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Climate change, new technology, and COVID-19 are forcing Maine to rethink its dependence on cars.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>by Tyler Wells Lynch<br>Illustration by Joel Kuschke<br>Photography by Peter Frank Edwards<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Issue: March\/April 2022<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:45px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">Each year the Maine Better Transportation Association holds a contest to honor the worst road in Maine. Past winners include potholed stretches of Route 201 in Moose River, Route 15 in Camden, and Spring Street in Dexter. In 2019 roads in Waldo County were so bad that residents of the town of Freedom attempted to recall two of their selectmen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Complaining about Maine\u2019s roads is a tradition as old as Maine roads. In 1909 Maine\u2019s first commissioner of highways, Paul D. Sargent, lambasted the prevailing attitude toward road maintenance, which amounted to \u201cworking a section here and a section there when we can find nothing better to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Back then, Mainers could travel from Portland to Caribou and all points between via passenger rail. For everything else they had horses, stagecoaches, and their own two feet. At the time, 86 percent of the state\u2019s roads were dirt, and there was little reason to challenge the almighty railroad, which for decades had ferried wealthy vacationers from the south to the pastoral realms of rural Maine.<\/p>\n\n\n\t\t<section id=\"testimonial-block_6225ec157c974\" class=\" \">\n \t\t\n<section class=\"ad_block\">\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t <div id=\"sam_wrapper_68f75015b5dae\" class=\"\">\n\t\t\t \n\t\t\t \t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t \n\t\t\t \n\t\t\t <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\t\t\t\/\/ <![CDATA[\n\t\t\t\tvar ads = [];\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tvar ad_68f75015b5dae = ads[Math.floor(Math.random() * ads.length)];\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tjQuery( function( $ ) {\n\t\t\t\t\t\/\/console.log( ad_68f75015b5dae['link']);\n\t\t\t\t\t\/\/$('#sam_link').attr('href', ad['link']);\n\t\t\t\t\t\/\/$('#sam_link').attr('eventCategory', 'test');\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tfull_link = '<a title=\"'+ad_68f75015b5dae['title']+'\" href=\"'+ad_68f75015b5dae['link']+'\" target=\"'+ad_68f75015b5dae['target']+'\" onclick=\"ga(\\'send\\', \\'event\\', { eventCategory: \\''+ad_68f75015b5dae['tracking_category']+'\\', eventAction: \\'Click\\', eventLabel: \\''+ad_68f75015b5dae['tracking_label']+'\\', eventValue: 2.00});\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"'+ad_68f75015b5dae['image_link']+'\" title=\"'+ad_68f75015b5dae['title']+'\" class=\"desktop\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"'+ad_68f75015b5dae['mobile_image']+'\" title=\"'+ad_68f75015b5dae['title']+'\" class=\"mobile\" \/><\/a>';\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tsmall_image =' <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"small_image\" width=\"0\" height=\"0\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP\/\/\/\/\/\/\/yH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" onload=\"ga(\\'send\\', \\'event\\', { eventCategory: \\''+ad_68f75015b5dae['tracking_category']+'\\', eventAction: \\'Impression\\', eventLabel: \\''+ad_68f75015b5dae['tracking_label']+'\\', eventValue: 1.00});\">';\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t$('#sam_wrapper_68f75015b5dae').append(full_link);\n\t\t\t\t\t$('#sam_wrapper_68f75015b5dae').append(small_image);\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\/\/$( \".hvw-random-background\" ).css('background-image', 'url(' + ad['image_link'] + ')');\n\t\t\t\t} );\n\t\t\t\/\/ ]]>\n\t\t<\/script>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n       \n   \n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n<\/section>\n\n\t\t \n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>The personal automobile changed all that. The car expanded mobility and transformed the economy in the process. It opened the state to a new market of middle-class tourists\u2014people who needed reliable, well-paved roads to reach the beaches, mountains, and woodlands of their beloved vacation lands. Commissioner Sargent saw the change coming, writing, \u201cThere is a growing sentiment in many sections of the state that the future development of our tourist and summer resort business depends largely upon the development of our system of trunk line highways.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the car became the dominant mode of transportation, the tourist sector became the state\u2019s largest industry. By 1930 two-thirds of rural families in Maine owned automobiles. Gone were the fabled railways that trafficked Mainers from Portland to Boston or Montreal and beyond. Trolley lines went out of business. Roads carved the state into prepackaged consumer vistas, molding regional identities and emblazoning license plates with the slogan \u201cVacationland.\u201d As E.B. White wrote from Maine in the 1930s, \u201cEverything in life is somewhere else, and you get there in a car.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054825\/PFE_7219_JK-692x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-62402\" width=\"692\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054825\/PFE_7219_JK-692x1024.jpg 692w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054825\/PFE_7219_JK-203x300.jpg 203w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054825\/PFE_7219_JK-768x1136.jpg 768w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054825\/PFE_7219_JK-700x1036.jpg 700w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054825\/PFE_7219_JK-475x703.jpg 475w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054825\/PFE_7219_JK-250x370.jpg 250w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054825\/PFE_7219_JK-473x700.jpg 473w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054825\/PFE_7219_JK-321x475.jpg 321w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054825\/PFE_7219_JK-169x250.jpg 169w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054825\/PFE_7219_JK-301x445.jpg 301w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054825\/PFE_7219_JK-600x888.jpg 600w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054825\/PFE_7219_JK.jpg 786w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 692px) 100vw, 692px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Today, you can reach pretty much anywhere in Maine by car, but the infrastructure is fraying at the seams; 44 percent of major roads and highways are in poor or mediocre condition, according to the National Transportation Research Group. The most recent Maine Infrastructure Report Card issued by the American Society of Civil Engineers gave Maine\u2019s state roads a D grade. A 2019 study estimated the state needs $198 million in additional funding\u2014roughly a third of the annual highway budget\u2014all to serve an automotive infrastructure that some say simply feeds on itself, sucking more and more resources the bigger it gets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maine needs cars, but it also needs others ways of getting around. As climate change stresses the need to revolutionize or, at the very least, decarbonize transportation networks, the state finds itself in the position of being able to afford neither the status quo nor a complete overhaul. Other catalysts like the COVID-19 pandemic, changing commuting trends, and shifting demographics are forcing a reckoning with the personal automobile, putting Maine in the same fateful position it was in a century ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s been seven weeks since Fawn Burnette went grocery shopping. Disabled and without a driver\u2019s license, she is an hour\u2019s drive from the nearest bus stop, so she\u2019s unable to get to the store to buy food. She hasn\u2019t seen her therapist since before the pandemic. The MaineCare shuttle that services remote Houlton, which requires a day\u2019s notice, is often already booked solid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve missed a lot of medical appointments,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd I don\u2019t always have the money to get around.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When her nephew last visited, he got stranded in Bangor overnight because the last bus to Houlton left before he arrived at the station. \u201cAnd I couldn\u2019t get him,\u201d she says, with a chuckle. The frustrating transportation options leave Burnette, 61, missing her native California, where even hitchhiking, she says, used to be easier. She\u2019s not alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Over in Bar Harbor, state representative Lynne Williams knows well the trouble with Maine\u2019s public transportation system, especially in rural areas. She used to practice law in Rockland and would pick up hitchhikers on her way to the courthouse. Most often, the hitchhikers were on their way to see a parole officer, visit a recovery group, or go to the doctor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cLiterally 90 percent of the people I picked up over the course of maybe five years were doing these positive things for their lives, things they needed to do,\u201d Williams says. \u201cAnd they didn\u2019t have a car.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p>&#8220;We haven&#8217;t changed routes based around the needs of the twenty-first century.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Even in the Portland area, with greater access to train and bus services, getting by without a car isn\u2019t easy. Transit agencies don\u2019t coordinate with one another, so getting from one town to another is often a multimodal odyssey of fits and starts. \u201cWe haven\u2019t changed routes based around the needs of the twenty-first century,\u201d says Chris Chop, transportation director at the Greater Portland Council of Governments (GPCOG). \u201cThese agencies have modified routes over time, but they\u2019re not always in line with other systems.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the demand is there. According to a recent study by the regional planning organization, ridership on public buses in the Portland area grew by 24 percent between 2013 and 2018, even as nationwide public transportation usage declined over the same period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054928\/IMG_1763-683x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-62403\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054928\/IMG_1763-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054928\/IMG_1763-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054928\/IMG_1763-768x1151.jpg 768w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054928\/IMG_1763-700x1049.jpg 700w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054928\/IMG_1763-475x712.jpg 475w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054928\/IMG_1763-250x375.jpg 250w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054928\/IMG_1763-467x700.jpg 467w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054928\/IMG_1763-317x475.jpg 317w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054928\/IMG_1763-167x250.jpg 167w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054928\/IMG_1763-301x451.jpg 301w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054928\/IMG_1763-600x899.jpg 600w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07054928\/IMG_1763.jpg 876w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Buses can help ease congestion, but they still depend on a road system built for cars. The catch-22 is that, the more roads you build, the more funding you need to maintain them. Studies show road construction has the counterintuitive effect of swelling usage and adding to congestion. In Maine 65 percent of transportation spending goes to road maintenance and construction, covering some 8,200 miles\u2014a public portfolio larger than all but six states in the country. The state\u2019s public transportation budget, meanwhile, is among the lowest in the country\u2014just 17 percent of the national average.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Before COVID, it was perhaps easier to look at the funding imbalance and recommend a more train- and bus-friendly budget. But the pandemic really gummed up the works of transit systems everywhere. Ridership and traffic revenues dried up almost overnight, partly due to fears of infection in close quarters, but also because of a general shift toward working from home. Some officials worry ridership figures may never fully recover. \u201cThere may be a permanent reduction in overall mobility,\u201d says Kristina Egan, executive director of GPCOG. \u201cThat means less cars on the road and less people using public transportation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Complicating the postpandemic recovery is our looming environmental crisis. United Nations scientists estimate the world has until 2030 to take meaningful action to combat climate change. In Maine, cars and trucks are responsible for more than half of the state\u2019s carbon footprint. While emissions from power plants in Maine have fallen in recent decades, emissions from vehicles have only risen. Empty roads might signal a sluggish economy, but they also might be needed to limit emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>So, how do we get out of this pickle? How does a scattered, wintery, rural state with a below-average median income overcome its inertial dependence on cars?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Egan is optimistic that the growing focus on climate change will attract federal dollars for big transportation projects. The national infrastructure bill passed last summer is set to bring some $2.4 billion in funding for Maine\u2019s roads, public transit systems, and broadband networks over the next five years. That\u2019s in addition to the $100 million transportation bond Maine voters approved in November. But for people like Tony Donovan and Paul Weiss, it\u2019s all about a return to the old ways: trains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"732\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055034\/PFE_1200-732x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"62404\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.themainemag.com\/?attachment_id=62404\" class=\"wp-image-62404\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055034\/PFE_1200-732x1024.jpg 732w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055034\/PFE_1200-214x300.jpg 214w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055034\/PFE_1200-768x1074.jpg 768w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055034\/PFE_1200-700x979.jpg 700w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055034\/PFE_1200-475x664.jpg 475w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055034\/PFE_1200-250x350.jpg 250w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055034\/PFE_1200-500x700.jpg 500w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055034\/PFE_1200-340x475.jpg 340w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055034\/PFE_1200-179x250.jpg 179w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055034\/PFE_1200-301x421.jpg 301w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055034\/PFE_1200-600x839.jpg 600w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055034\/PFE_1200.jpg 850w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 732px) 100vw, 732px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055044\/pfe_1358-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"62405\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055044\/pfe_1358.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.themainemag.com\/?attachment_id=62405\" class=\"wp-image-62405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055044\/pfe_1358-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055044\/pfe_1358-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055044\/pfe_1358-700x933.jpg 700w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055044\/pfe_1358-475x633.jpg 475w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055044\/pfe_1358-250x333.jpg 250w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055044\/pfe_1358-525x700.jpg 525w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055044\/pfe_1358-356x475.jpg 356w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055044\/pfe_1358-188x250.jpg 188w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055044\/pfe_1358-301x401.jpg 301w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055044\/pfe_1358-600x800.jpg 600w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055044\/pfe_1358.jpg 975w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Donovan and Weiss head up the Maine Rail Transit Coalition, which for over a decade has been advocating for expanded passenger rail service in southern Maine. Their principal project is to repurpose the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad between Portland and Lewiston-Auburn, which is currently a freight line, with the eventual goal of extending service to western Maine and Quebec. The project would resurrect a famous passenger line that, 100 years ago, connected Boston, Portland, Lewiston-Auburn, and Montreal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe need to start to connect our cities back to the way they were,\u201d says Weiss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rail services account for less than 2 percent of the Maine transportation budget. Nationwide, railroads likewise receive about 2 percent of the federal budget. For much of the country, trains have been banished to the realms of novelty and nostalgia\u2014except for those who actually use them. Poll after poll show broad support for expanded passenger rail service, and Maine has the advantage of already sitting on a vast, untapped infrastructure. The state currently owns more than 300 miles of railroad, on some of which new passenger lines are already being planned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Last summer, the state legislature approved funding for two planning studies: one for the Portland-to-Lewiston\/Auburn railroad and another for a proposed line between Portland, Waterville, and Bangor. Both would extend the highly popular Downeaster line that runs between Boston and Brunswick. The Downeaster has been one of Amtrak\u2019s most successful projects in the country, reaching record ridership in 2019 with over 500,000 passengers.<\/p>\n\n\n\t\t<section id=\"testimonial-block_6225ec2e7c975\" class=\" \">\n \t\t\n<section class=\"ad_block\">\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t <div id=\"sam_wrapper_68f75015b935b\" class=\"\">\n\t\t\t \n\t\t\t \t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t \n\t\t\t \n\t\t\t <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\t\t\t\/\/ <![CDATA[\n\t\t\t\tvar ads = [];\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tvar ad_68f75015b935b = ads[Math.floor(Math.random() * ads.length)];\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tjQuery( function( $ ) {\n\t\t\t\t\t\/\/console.log( ad_68f75015b935b['link']);\n\t\t\t\t\t\/\/$('#sam_link').attr('href', ad['link']);\n\t\t\t\t\t\/\/$('#sam_link').attr('eventCategory', 'test');\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tfull_link = '<a title=\"'+ad_68f75015b935b['title']+'\" href=\"'+ad_68f75015b935b['link']+'\" target=\"'+ad_68f75015b935b['target']+'\" onclick=\"ga(\\'send\\', \\'event\\', { eventCategory: \\''+ad_68f75015b935b['tracking_category']+'\\', eventAction: \\'Click\\', eventLabel: \\''+ad_68f75015b935b['tracking_label']+'\\', eventValue: 2.00});\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"'+ad_68f75015b935b['image_link']+'\" title=\"'+ad_68f75015b935b['title']+'\" class=\"desktop\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"'+ad_68f75015b935b['mobile_image']+'\" title=\"'+ad_68f75015b935b['title']+'\" class=\"mobile\" \/><\/a>';\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tsmall_image =' <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" id=\"small_image\" width=\"0\" height=\"0\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP\/\/\/\/\/\/\/yH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" onload=\"ga(\\'send\\', \\'event\\', { eventCategory: \\''+ad_68f75015b935b['tracking_category']+'\\', eventAction: \\'Impression\\', eventLabel: \\''+ad_68f75015b935b['tracking_label']+'\\', eventValue: 1.00});\">';\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t$('#sam_wrapper_68f75015b935b').append(full_link);\n\t\t\t\t\t$('#sam_wrapper_68f75015b935b').append(small_image);\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\/\/$( \".hvw-random-background\" ).css('background-image', 'url(' + ad['image_link'] + ')');\n\t\t\t\t} );\n\t\t\t\/\/ ]]>\n\t\t<\/script>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n       \n   \n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n<\/section>\n\n\t\t \n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>Key to the challenge of expanding rail service, however, is a cultural dependence on cars and an aversion to big spending projects. The cost of the proposed Portland-to-Lewiston\/Auburn line, for example, is estimated to be around $250 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt does cost a lot of money, and people are always scared of spending money,\u201d Weiss says. \u201cBut right now we\u2019re spending money on the wrong things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For comparison, Maine\u2019s annual highway budget is $675 million, a figure that has proven insufficient for meeting the state\u2019s maintenance backlog. While road maintenance is more of an ad hoc expense, allocated to buttress existing demand, rail projects demand a more overhead view involving higher upfront costs, risk assessments, and ridership projections: how do you get people from point A to point B? Taking this perspective, the Department of Transportation commissioner, Bruce Van Note, cites high capital and operating costs as reasons why flashy rail projects often look like misshapen pieces of the puzzle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rail advocates may be further outflanked by another, even greener, segment of the transportation infrastructure: cyclists. For as long as Maine\u2019s railroads have been out of use, they\u2019ve been the target of cyclists, hikers, and pedestrian advocates who want to see those idle tracks reengaged as multiuse trails. \u201cRail trails,\u201d as they\u2019re called, create a web of nearly 400 miles of old tracks throughout Maine, and efforts now before the state legislature would add hundreds more. From an environmental perspective, the argument is sound: rail trails are as carbon-friendly as the people who traffic them. The problem is, their use comes at the expense of prospective rail projects. Unless a rail trail runs alongside an existing passenger line (as does with the proposed trail between Portland and Auburn), the choice is binary: rail or trail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While the Maine Trails Coalition has called for the preservation of some tracks, rail advocates are far from convinced. \u201cTo have this state resource sitting there, being destroyed every year by another mile of trail, is like having a grand piano and using it as a coffee table,\u201d says Weiss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rail proponents are optimistic that the Lewiston and Bangor extensions will happen despite the cost. Some, like Weiss, believe the project is more than just a good idea: it\u2019s necessary. Connecting all of Maine\u2019s major cities via passenger rail could take hundreds of thousands of cars off the road. The railroads that connect Maine\u2019s cities can hold more passengers and freight than the Maine Turnpike. And the maintenance is much simpler. Roads, on the other hand, are repaved on average every seven years, and still Maine\u2019s rural roads rank among the worst in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rail advocates, like cyclists, are nothing if not passionate. Last year, at a meeting of the Transportation Committee of the state legislature, a bit of drama unfolded as commissioner Van Note accused representative Williams of being a mouthpiece for the Maine Rail Transit Coalition. The commissioner later apologized to Williams in private, but the spat reflected the larger disagreement over how to best modernize the state\u2019s transportation infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The state\u2019s four-year climate action plan unveiled by Governor Janet Mills in 2020 offers the building blocks for a modern, clean energy economy but doesn\u2019t mention trains. With regard to the state\u2019s biggest carbon emitters, cars and trucks, the plan depends entirely on electrification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s all about an asphalt system of transportation that they hope to be operating electric cars on,\u201d says Donovan. \u201cThey hope that they can move the needle from 1 percent ownership of electric cars to 100 percent.\u201d No one\u2014including Donovan, Weiss, and Williams\u2014opposes electric vehicles. Weiss says he owns two himself. The problem is the time frame. The most rosy projections estimate electric vehicles will make up only a little over 40 percent of global road traffic by 2050.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>For the Maine Department of Transportation, the imperatives of climate change, COVID-19, and new vehicle technologies have to be filtered through the lens of funding. Is there enough of it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The state can only afford to do so much by way of big infrastructure projects, and to advance one mode of transportation often comes at the expense of another. From that perspective, focusing on the car\u2014which is, at the end of the day, the dominant mode of transportation in the world\u2014makes sense. Electric vehicles are mostly privately owned, and thus reflect an independent sector of potential progress on emissions. The idea is that, through incentive programs, land-use policies, and a modernized infrastructure, Mainers will eventually make the transition to EVs on their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe electrification of the personal automobile is not the thing that\u2019s talked about the most,\u201d says Commissioner Van Note. \u201cBut I think it\u2019s the most meaningful,\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, plenty of Mainers can hardly afford gas-powered clunkers as it is, and not everyone has a driver\u2019s license. Others are wary of arguments that hinge on consumer discipline as the best way to avert global environmental catastrophe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEVs are not the solution to Maine\u2019s transportation infrastructure,\u201d Weiss says. \u201cThey\u2019re part of it. We\u2019re now at that point where we have 15 years to do these huge climate initiatives to take 50, 60, 70 percent of the emissions out of our transportation methods, and if we don\u2019t make the right choices, it will not be sustainable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But carbon-friendly transit options are not necessarily mobility-friendly. The $250 million Downeaster extension, for example, isn\u2019t going to do much for people like Fawn Burnette who just need to get to the grocery store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055141\/pfe_0209-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"62406\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.themainemag.com\/?attachment_id=62406\" class=\"wp-image-62406\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055141\/pfe_0209-768x1025.jpg 768w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055141\/pfe_0209-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055141\/pfe_0209-700x934.jpg 700w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055141\/pfe_0209-475x634.jpg 475w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055141\/pfe_0209-250x334.jpg 250w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055141\/pfe_0209-525x700.jpg 525w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055141\/pfe_0209-356x475.jpg 356w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055141\/pfe_0209-187x250.jpg 187w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055141\/pfe_0209-301x402.jpg 301w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055141\/pfe_0209-600x800.jpg 600w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055141\/pfe_0209.jpg 829w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055157\/DSC04928-683x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"62407\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055157\/DSC04928.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.themainemag.com\/?attachment_id=62407\" class=\"wp-image-62407\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055157\/DSC04928-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055157\/DSC04928-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055157\/DSC04928-768x1151.jpg 768w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055157\/DSC04928-700x1049.jpg 700w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055157\/DSC04928-475x712.jpg 475w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055157\/DSC04928-250x375.jpg 250w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055157\/DSC04928-467x700.jpg 467w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055157\/DSC04928-317x475.jpg 317w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055157\/DSC04928-167x250.jpg 167w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055157\/DSC04928-301x451.jpg 301w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055157\/DSC04928-600x899.jpg 600w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/07055157\/DSC04928.jpg 876w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Some transit planners look to charitable groups and public-private partnerships for solutions. In Millinocket, a coalition called Mobilize Katahdin serves up volunteer drivers for the Katahdin region, helping people get to medical appointments, grocery stores, and social gatherings. Around a half-dozen regional groups, like the Kennebec Valley Community Action Program in Augusta, offer MaineCare-covered rides and other transportation services. Many of the people using those services live in rural areas and have no other way to get around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One thing everyone seems to agree on is that there\u2019s no silver bullet. There\u2019s no one mode or system that\u2019s going to unify and solve Maine\u2019s myriad transportation problems. Van Note, GPCOG, and transit engineers are all fond of the term \u201cmode-agnostic\u201d to describe this thinking. Instead of assuming which mode of transportation is best, the idea is to look at all the available service models\u2014be it bus, train, or ferry\u2014and then figure out how many riders will be using it, what the total cost of building the infrastructure will be, and how much it will cost to maintain and operate. Transit planners like GPCOG often deliberately avoid recommending specific modes for that reason, and the state\u2019s transportation department maintains a similar approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the position of being modally agnostic doesn\u2019t rescue Maine from its catch-22: the state can\u2019t afford to maintain its present course of car dependency, nor can it afford to revolutionize its primary means of getting around. \u201cWe\u2019re stretching the pavement thinner and thinner,\u201d says Van Note. \u201cWe\u2019re putting out contracts now that need funding to be delivered in the current legislative session for projects being done this year. Think of it as \u2018just-in-time capital funding delivery.\u2019 That\u2019s not normal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re stretching the pavement thinner and thinner.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The state is changing. Over the past two years, Maine saw its largest population growth in two decades, thanks entirely to migration into the state. Remote work is allowing people to move here, and throwing the future of commuting itself into question. Climate change and a generational shift in attitude away from car ownership has many Mainers looking for other ways to get around. For some, a bicycle-friendly rail trail is cheaper and more convenient than an intercity rail system. New urban transit technologies, like electric bikes and driver-less ride-share programs, will raise even more questions about who owns the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the early years of the twentieth century, when Model Ts and Cadillac Tourings were dethroning the horse and buggy, some Mainers worried the changes brought by the automobile would be for the worse. Journalists touring cities warned of a growing \u201cauto terror.\u201d Some towns, like Bar Harbor, attempted to ban cars altogether. One 1905 missive in the <em>Ellsworth American<\/em> warned that motorists were \u201ctaking away the liberties of the people and should be looked upon the same way as any other class of robbers and murderers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite efforts to control the terror, the future couldn\u2019t be stopped. As the infrastructure changed, so did Maine. Creating new divides along class lines, the car split access to the state\u2019s verdant parks and landscapes while increasing its dependence on visitors from elsewhere. The almighty car quite literally shaped Maine\u2019s economy into the one we know today, and brought about the Sisyphean road network we love to hate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now the state faces a new transformation, one with higher stakes and a blurrier prognosis. Given the complexity of Maine\u2019s transportation infrastructure and the weighty forces laid upon it, it\u2019s not surprising the prevailing attitude is one of disagreement. But no one believes the future is set in stone. As a public good, the transportation system is accountable to all of us. It is ours to enjoy, ridicule, and criticize. It is also ours to reimagine. Maybe the road ahead is less crowded than we think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-read-more\">Read More:<\/h2>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__list is-grid columns-4 wp-block-latest-posts\"><li><div class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__featured-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/05153724\/NWolf_SkiJor_HR0226202213-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/05153724\/NWolf_SkiJor_HR0226202213-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/05153724\/NWolf_SkiJor_HR0226202213-230x230.jpg 230w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/05153724\/NWolf_SkiJor_HR0226202213-350x350.jpg 350w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/05153724\/NWolf_SkiJor_HR0226202213-500x500.jpg 500w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/05153724\/NWolf_SkiJor_HR0226202213-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/div><a class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__post-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.themainemag.com\/the-most-exciting-30-seconds-in-maine\/\">The Most Exciting 30 Seconds in Maine<\/a><\/li>\n<li><div class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__featured-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/05145300\/001ISTHR05906-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/05145300\/001ISTHR05906-150x150.jpg 150w, 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src=\"https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/05150618\/PFE_6350-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/05150618\/PFE_6350-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/05150618\/PFE_6350-230x230.jpg 230w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/05150618\/PFE_6350-350x350.jpg 350w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/05150618\/PFE_6350-500x500.jpg 500w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/05150618\/PFE_6350-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/div><a class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__post-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.themainemag.com\/renovations-and-renewal-at-kennebunks-white-barn-inn\/\">Renovations and Renewal at Kennebunk\u2019s White Barn Inn<\/a><\/li>\n<li><div class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__featured-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/05151758\/002AGagne_KidneyPond_HR09652_JK-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/05151758\/002AGagne_KidneyPond_HR09652_JK-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/05151758\/002AGagne_KidneyPond_HR09652_JK-230x230.jpg 230w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/05151758\/002AGagne_KidneyPond_HR09652_JK-350x350.jpg 350w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/05151758\/002AGagne_KidneyPond_HR09652_JK-500x500.jpg 500w, https:\/\/d3rw5v15h1jwdg.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/05151758\/002AGagne_KidneyPond_HR09652_JK-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/div><a class=\"wp-block-latest-posts__post-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.themainemag.com\/searching-for-winters-gifts-in-baxter-state-park\/\">Searching for Winter\u2019s Gifts in Baxter State Park<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Each year the Maine Better Transportation Association holds a contest to honor the worst road in Maine. Past winners include potholed stretches of Route 201 in Moose River, Route 15 in Camden, and Spring Street in Dexter. In 2019 roads<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":62403,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,2797],"tags":[],"locations":[],"people":[],"class_list":["post-62373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-featured-stories-culture"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v15.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.themainemag.com\/has-maines-transportation-system-reached-the-end-of-the-road\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Has Maine\u2019s Transportation System Reached the End of the Road? - The Maine Mag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Each year the Maine Better Transportation Association holds a contest to honor the worst road in Maine. Past winners include potholed stretches of Route 201 in Moose River, Route 15 in Camden, and Spring Street in Dexter. 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