A new report focusing on rural roadways finds almost one 1 of 5 in Maine in poor condition and around 1 in 6 rural bridges to be structurally deficient. The report was prepared by the Washington-based group TRIP, which represents insurers, road builders, transport companies and workers.
“Worn out pavements, oftentimes cracking or rutting of those pavements, there can be potholes, but as a motorist, what you’re feeling is a rough ride and certainly that’s beating up your vehicle,” says TRIP’s Rocky Moretti, asked what they categorize as a road in “poor” condition.
Moretti says it has been estimated the country, as a whole, needs to be spending 50 percent more a year on road construction in order to bring roads and bridges into good shape and keep them there. He says all levels of government share the blame for such conditions.
“If you look at the federal government, where clearly there’s a push for additional infrastructure investment and additional rural infrastructure investment, that’s going to require a long-term source of sustainable funding, and that is still the battle in Congress. At the state level, clearly there’s a need for additional state investment,” he says.
Moretti points out a study that found that the fatality rate on rural Maine roads is three times that on all other roads.
