LongRange Planning and the Infrastructure Deficit

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Long-Range Planning and the Infrastructure Deficit
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Laying the Foundation

• Motor fuels tax is the primary source for funding
  infrastructure maintenance and improvement.
• Unsustainable for a number of reasons
• -cars more fuel efficient lt tax
• -project costs increasing due to rise in oil
  prices and demand from Asian economic expansion
• -erosion in purchasing power due to inflation

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Preserving our current system
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Roads

• MaineDOT has 8,400 miles of roads to maintain.
• About 2,300 miles of road are considered
  unbuilt and must be re-constructed.
• MaineDOT can only fund a fraction of these each
  biennium.

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Freight

• Freight will double (nationally) in 20 years.
• 78 handled by trucks gt wear tear on roads
  gt infrastructure costs.

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Bridges

• Approaching peak of bridge needs in about 5 years
  in which a number of bridges will be nearing end
  of their service life.
• Also have extraordinary bridge backlog of 248
  million (50 ft. or longer, requires 5 million or
  more to improve).
• Aging bridges will require significant
  investments.

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New Capacity and Growing Maines Economy
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What does it mean??

• Our transportations assets are aging.
• System preservation is critical, cost effective.
• New capacity Economic Growth
• Project costs are increasing.
• Current funding mechanism wont meet future needs.

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The way life should be??

• Maine disadvantaged in highway funding
• Harsh climate gt maintenance costs
• Our min. guarantee for Fed. Funding only ½ of
  all funding distributed nationally
• 2nd longest interstate mileage in New England,
  but rank 4th in federal highway funding.

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Could you make your point please?

• Needs far outweigh available resources, producing
  a long-range funding gap.

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Are we doomed?

• No.
• Gov. recognizes economic impact of strategic
  highway investments.
• Charged MaineDOT and Maine Turnpike Authority
  with reviewing the states ability to respond to
  future transportation needs.
• In response, we have developed a new initiative
  entitled Transportation 2025 Fueling this
  Economic Engine.
• Department and MTA will work to define long-term
  challenges, develop recommendations for meeting
  our transportation needs, and assess the impact
  of not meeting those needs on our infrastructure,
  economy, environment and quality of life.

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What are your goals?

• Engage policy makers, citizens, business leaders,
  other stakeholders and the press in a discussion
  about funding challenges and potential solutions.
• Promote the link between a sound transportation
  infrastructure and Maines long-range economic
  health.

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Anything else?

• Yes.
• MaineDOT, with assistance from the Regional
  Planning and Development Organizations (RPOs)
  will be developing Regional Needs Assessments
  that consider priority corridors, integrate land
  use and transportation planning issues with
  economic development, and produce prioritized
  goals for meeting long-term regional needs.
• This is a policy based exercise rather than an
  effort to determine projects.

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And,

• MaineDOT and the MTA will also be working with
  the RPOs to conduct a series of forums
  throughout Maine to
• - discuss funding challenges
• - explore potential solutions
• - seek input on various ways to address the
  issue and meet our long-term infrastructure
  goals.

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Wrap it up for us please.

• After the forums, the RPOs will work w/MaineDOT
  and MTA to analyze the findings and develop a
  report with recommendations.
• Based on information gleaned from the Regional
  Needs Assessments and forums, recommendations
  will be developed for inclusion in MaineDOTs
  long-range plan update.