MDOT in the Ditch: Plenty of Money to Pave Maine Roads

Great one Doug. The DOT just cancelled repaving of a very bad section of Route 2.

Doug - thank you. Very well said.

Does anyone know if Baldacci has ever repaid all the money he "borrowed" from the DOT over the years for other programs?

Doug, thank you for once again clearing away the smoke and mirrors. With the funds DOT has there should be continued paving and maintenance this summer.

I knew it it had to be the employees fault!
How dare they have and use those benefits the legislatire funds!!!

On the bright side, after the silly bicycle trek is over, we'll all have a much safer summer. We won't have to avoid the MDOT shovel leaners. It's more than enough to have to deal with Canadian and Mass. drivers.

On the dark side, we'll continue to need the monthly front-end alignment, on which we'll now have to pay sales tax. Maine - the way live (Ouch!) should be.

Since MDOT has decided to cancel all of those jobs, Mr. Thomas, does that mean some of these Top-50 in Total Compensation (per www.maineopengov.org for 2008 alone) people from MDOT will be cut from state payroll?

WholeName PositionName TotalCompensation
Van Note, Bruce A PUBLIC SERVICE EXECUTIVE III 152,349.9
Dority, John PUBLIC SERVICE EXECUTIVE III 148,762.1
Nadeau, Gregory G PUBLIC SERVICE EXECUTIVE II 143,154.4
Bernhardt, David PUBLIC SERVICE EXECUTIVE II 141,421.9
Sweeney, Kenneth PUBLIC SERVICE EXECUTIVE II 140,638.2
Kemmerle, Toni L PUBLIC SERVICE EXECUTIVE II 132,313.1
Taylor, Joyce N PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGER III 131,505
Watson, Robert K PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGER III 130,872
Fuller, Kathleen B PUBLIC SERVICE EXECUTIVE II 130,409.6
Cole, David A COMM DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION 128,543.6
Ibarguen, Bruce A PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGER III 128,500.1
Doyle, Karen S PUBLIC SERVICE EXECUTIVE II 127,563.5
Haggan, Allan PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGER II 127,454.2
Casey, Jerome PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGER III 126,462.9
Buxton, John E PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGER III 125,818
Snowden, Brent A PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGER III 125,235.9
Elder, Robert PUBLIC SERVICE EXECUTIVE II 123,792.8
Haggan, Norman C PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGER III 123,387.2
Fletcher, Rhonda F PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGER III 123,382.3
Burns, Michael E PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGER III 123,382.3
Baker, Norman L PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGER III 121,587.1
Mattson, Bruce W CIVIL ENGINEER III 120,099.4
Sherlock, David PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGER III 119,952.5
Cannell, John W PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGER III 118,463.6
Poor, John H MANAGER TRANS INVESTIGATIONS 118,326
Roy, Ronald L PUBLIC SERVICE EXECUTIVE II 118,264.2
Landry, Stephen PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGER II 117,225
Shepherd, Eric C PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGER II 117,214.3
Burne, Brian T PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGER II 117,214.1
Pelletier, Todd E PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGER II 117,196.6
Coughlan, Peter M PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGER II 116,223.5
Dubois, Rick J PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGER II 116,223.5
Thomson, Herbert J PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGER II 116,060.3
Bubar, Brent S PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGER II 115,405
Foster, Benjamin W CIVIL ENGINEER IV 114,863.1
Hall, Kyle A PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGER II 114,756.3
Williams, Gary C PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGER II 114,480
Hannan, Terrence J PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGER II 114,419.2
Quimby, Raymond PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGER II 114,412.2
Crawford, Richard J PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGER II 114,412.2
Caswell, Terry PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGER II 113,624.9
Hume, Mark A PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGER II 113,341.2
Charette, Russell PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGER II 112,950.1
Peabody, Dale H PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGER II 112,375.1
Auger, John P CIVIL ENGINEER II 111,752.5
Rooney, Martin J PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGER II 111,531.5
Pulver, William A PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGER II 111,148.1
Hurd, Craig F CIVIL ENGINEER II 110,653.4
Getchell III, Arthur H PUBLIC SERVICE MANAGER II 110,498.1

We need more cuts within Maine State Government, and the top of MDOT is a good place to start.

My calculator just ran out of zeroes on the list above... it's okay, though...maybe I don't want to know, after all.

Editor's Note: The MDOT press release in question.

MDOT
News Release for June 19, 2009
For More Information:
Mark Latti, MaineDOT Office of Communications - 624-3030

MAINEDOT ANNOUNCES REDUCTION IN PAVING PROJECTS TO ADDRESS REDUCED FUNDING LEVELS
 
MaineDOT announced today that about 75% of all maintenance paving projects (Maintenance Surface Treatment or MST) over the next two years will be canceled in order to meet the reduced funding levels set forth in the state Highway Fund Budget that was enacted last week.

“The reduced level of funding will require us to cancel nearly 40 percent of our maintenance paving projects for this year, and all of our maintenance paving projects for the following year unless more resources are identified,” said MaineDOT Commissioner David Cole. The Joint Standing Committee on Transportation is charged in the recently passed budget with conducting a review to develop funding alternatives as cited below:
 
Public Law 2009, Chapter 413, Section X-4 Highway and Bridge Light Capital funding. The Joint Standing Committee on Transportation shall negotiate in good faith and develop a solution to fund the Highway and Bridge Light Capital program in the Department of Transportation so as to allow maintenance paving at a rate of 600 miles per year without further impact to the TransCap Trust Fund. The Joint Standing Committee on Transportation shall submit a bill to the Second Regular Session of the 124th Legislature to implement the solution.
 
Proposed MST projects have been re-prioritized to match the reduced funding based upon road condition, traveler impacts, the functional classification of the road, traffic volumes, and the desire to award work to all of the successful bidding pavement contractors.
 
MaineDOT’s Maintenance Surface Treatments provide a light surface of pavement generally 5/8” of an inch in thickness over a road. This paving treatment seals the road surface, preventing water and ice damage while also providing a safer and smoother driving surface. These surface treatments extend the life of a road, and prevent more costly repairs later. These Maintenance Surface Treatments are part of MaineDOT’s Light Capital Program, which is only one aspect of MaineDOT’s biennial work plan which totals $673.6 million for highways and bridges.
 
 
“We had already scaled back our maintenance paving program to about 400 miles when we advertised for bids in May, pending legislative action. We should be doing 600 miles per year to keep these roads in serviceable and passable condition. Based upon the current budget, we will be doing only about 250 miles this year and probably none next year at current funding levels,” said Cole.
 
“These are extremely difficult choices and we ask for patience and understanding,” said Cole.  “We know that all these roads need work and that all contractors need the work, but we simply do not have the funding to do it. We are doing the best we can with what we have.”

#####

Protect the padding. Cut the meat.

Thanks Doug for the clear statement of the mis-budgeting and missallocation of resources.

I wish all the taxpayers in Piscataquis and Somerset counties could see this list. The lack of maintenance in this region is egregious. Rt 15 from Abbot to Jackman is unsafe in places. Just what do these 49 people do all day???

BlueJay -

Here you can download MDOT's list of cancelled projects for 2010.

http://www.asmainegoes.com/MST_2010_cancelled.pdf

Here you can download MDOT's keeper projects for 2009

http://www.asmainegoes.com/2009_MST_proceeding.pdf

Why do 9 people earn more than the commissioner?

Steven Scharf
SCSMedia@aol.com

I tried to work from the link to the list of cancelled projects to find a list of the ones they are keeping, with no success. Anybody have a link to that list?

It would be interesting to see how they prioritize. I'm sure there are other roads familiar to other folks here, but I can vouch that one of the last on the list of the cancelled projects, Rte. 139 from Winterport to Thorndike, will be a rutted gravel cowpath in two more years and nearly impassable at normal speeds.

"The Joint Standing Committee on Transportation shall negotiate in good faith and develop a solution to fund the Highway and Bridge Light Capital program in the Department of Transportation so as to allow maintenance paving at a rate of 600 miles per year without further impact to the TransCap Trust Fund."

This says the $75 million going to TransCap in the current Transportation Budget can't be touched by law. Personal services use up 46% of the budget, and the roads have to be plowed in the winter. So, when the Transportation Committee meets this summer the emphasis will by necessity be new sources of revenue. The way this budget spends all the money, and now protects that spending by law leaving paving projects until last is a clever way to force up taxes.

To me that says those of us in charge of spending failed. Should the taxpayers of Maine bail us out once again?

Haggis -

I just added the keeper list of projects to my post above.

skf

Don't tell Dan they blew off 18 miles of Rte 24 in Bowdoinham.

Well I am kind of pleased to see that they are going to do considerable paving on Deer Isle/Stonington. The people there will be able to put their wagons and ox carts back in the barn again for a while. lateley thats all that road has been fit for.

Sad part is there are lots of those roads around the great state of Maine.

There is an ironic bit of humor to watch bureaucrats cut back things as they fall all over themselves doing it. Its lots more fun spending than it is cutting.

WC

My understanding of the basic government hierarchy leads me to believe that job classifications making more than 60K annually are responsible for managing something important. In the private sector such high base line income levels would be supported by productivity through costs savings for the company while maintaining a quality product.
If we pay people large sums of money because they a qualified for a specific job function than why is DOT still a mess???

Dropping road paving at the state house is like dropping sports at public schools. It maximizes the public outcry for more spending (and taxes). It's the same trick.

Feel the pain everyday on your way to/from your job or other pursuits. You wouldn't "feel the pain" if they laid off 500 functionaries and hacks. Or if the schools got rid of the bottom 10% of their teaching corps.

On that one sunny day last week, a friend and I took motorcycles to Portland from Lewiston. We took Auburn's River Road through Durham to Freeport and Yarmouth, then 88 into Portland. There were only a few places we rode side by side; most of the trip was done single file because the right side of the lane was treacherous. There were a few stretches of road that shouldn't be driven on at all; perhaps they could be used as navigation aids for people in small planes to fly over. The arrogance of politicians who can't perform one of the most basic of government functions, road maintenance, but think they can continue to pass laws and create bureaucracies just astounds me.

Section 19 of the Maine Constitution, in place since 1943, clearly states that fuel tax revenues will
be used for ROADS AND BRIDGES.

I have a few thoughts on how to untangle the MDOT mess.

1. Divide the DOT in two. One branch will only deal with ROADS AND BRIDGES.

2. The new branch will be called MAINE DEPARTMENT OF ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION.

3. MDOAT will find it's funding from alternative sources, leaving the the tax and fee money designated
for roads and bridges to be used solely for those purposes.

Point: 1 mile of road constructed with paved shoulders provides 2 miles of bike paths!

OPEGA was put onto this and reported as little over two years ago, to see just who was tapping into the highway fund and for what purpose and to determine if the level was correct under whatever agreements were in place.

http://www.maine.gov/legis/opega/reports/SR-HFUPS-05%20(Highway%20Fund%20Use)/HFUPS%20Executive%20Summary.pdf

This is just the Excutive Summary -- the full report is available onluiines as well if you want to drill down further, but OPEGA found both the State Police and the Dept of Public Safety drawing about 65% of their funding from the Highway Fund, under the guise of covering their expenses for providing safety services on the highways. Even if that were permissible under the law, OPEGA estimates (they vary between these and other agencies also tapping in) for these two alone could be characterized as being at twice the level they should be (SP s/b more like 34%, DPS 29-41%).

It would seem law enforcement is picking our pockets.

Perhaps the solution is to have the Department of Public Safety fix the pot holes and pave roads. LOL

Portland Press Herald

Dispatches

GORHAM

Transportation agency plans new, $1.2 millon roundabout

The Maine Department of Transportation is planning to build another traffic roundabout in Gorham to improve safety at a dangerous intersection.

The project, with a projected cost of $1.2 million, would likely be built in 2011 at the intersection of New Portland Road, Brackett Road and Libby Avenue, said Darryl Belz, a transportation planner at the DOT.

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=264045&ac=PHnws&pg=2

No money for paving, but we can create more infrastructure that will need ongoing maintenance.

Steven Scharf
SCSMedia@aol.com

A friend said it best.

"BLACKTOP BLACKMAIL"

It's not a new complaint from me using the same old example.

The State of Maine (the government entity) is among the worst stewards of the property entrusted to it that can be found. They look for incremental increases in spending while neglecting to maintain what they have. The Waldo Hancock bridge is a sterling example. They let that bridge go to rot, deferring maintenance in the name of budgetary contraints. And then, when it could no longer be saved, they bought into a new one, trumpeting that federal money that would build most of it, while creating jobs for out-of-state iron workers, bolstering the revenues of the Spring Fountain Motel. What they left out were the million that the state had to contribute to the project, diverting funds from the maintenance of existing roads and bridges.

To defer the work needed to at least stem the further decay of our roads is akin to deciding to stop changing the oil in their trucks.

Of course, I can't find my reference now, but there was some concern when the stimulus money was to be rolled out for shovel-ready infrastructure projects that Maine would miss out on funding because so many of our projects were still on the drawing boards and not sufficiently far along in the process to qualify. Perhaps my tinnitus prevents me hearing correctly, but it sounds like the projects being cancelled were ready to go, under contract. Yet Lane alone cites the cancellation of roughly 40% of the work (on a dollar basis) that they were already had under contract for this year.

Can someone with a better handle on our unread budget tell me whether that portion of DOT's budget that would customarily come from the general fund was reduced in anticipation of the receipt of stimulus funds for their projects, allowing the state to divert the general fund bucks to other areas, depriving DOT or, more to the point, those of us that drive on the roads we entrust to them, of the benefit of the stimulus money? Again, it may be my tin ear, but is sounds like the notion of creating income and jobs by improving infrastructure has fallen flat.

Somebody somewhere is certainly stimulated.

The DOT just "repaired" a section of road here that collapsed during the heavy rains earlier this week. The "repair" consisted of filling a large area with gravel. Great, now we can look forward to broken windshields and bent rims as the gravel washes away for the next budget year.

I suppose that it is now time for me to weigh in. I have enjoyed viewing this forum for several years now but never post. The latest topics however, seem to be trending toward my area of expertise.

I am an engineer for the MaineDOT. Before anybody begins the awful bashing that usually follows the admission of a state employee, let me also say that I am extremely conservative and abhor the union to which I am forced to belong. I'd also be happy to go more in depth regaridng my opinion about the latest round of cuts as I'm certain it would surprise many of you; but that's a topic for another post.

Regarding the "shovel ready" stimulus projects within the MaineDOT, it is true that when they were selected, few if any of them were actually shovel ready. I am happy to report to the tax payers however, that today was the deadline before which this stimulus money must be obligated (contracted to be spent but not necessarily already spent). The employees within the Bureau of Project Development, after several months of anguish (and for we salaried engineers, many hours of uncompensated work) were able to deliver all projects that some months ago were deemed to be shovel ready. In fact, we are the first state in the Union to report that we have met all of our departmental obligations. Additionally, as part of the recent Transcap bond, $50M worth of projects were promised last summer to be delivered last week. Many of these were also at best in their infancy when defined last year. All $50M of the Transcap budget was fulfilled as well.

I do not tell you this looking for a thanks, or attempting to suade you to better like the MaineDOT; I only hope that perhaps you can better understand it. While I am certainly in the minority agency-wide, I am not a shovel leaner. I don't plow the roads in the winter, and I don't hold a stop sign in the summer. I plan and design projects costing millions of dollars worth of your tax money and do my best to spend it wisely and efficiently.

While I am angered and hurt by the latest round of cuts (as I do truly feel that I am underpaid for my services), I agree that cuts were needed (I would have simply prefered layoffs). I would however like to pose the following math that may help some others better understand why there never seems to be enough money to fix the roads.

As an engineer I typically design a section of road (unless it is a new road or part of the National Highway System) to last 12 years. The paving operations that much of the public sees the MaineDOT, itself helping to perform is a maintenance treatment from our maintenance divison and is not an engineered treatment and thus the life cycle is substanstially shorter (perhaps 8 years).
If the state of Maine has 6000 miles of road and an engineered portion is expected to last 12 years, then in order to keep each road at an acceptable level of service, we would need to address 1/12 of our roads each year, or 500 miles/year. With construction costs soaring these days the $1M per mile figure is quite low (a recent 2.5 mile job in northern Maine was bid at $6M), but with the aforemention maintenance treatment, being a cheaper albeit temporary solution averaged in, we could guess that the average mile of road could receive an average treament for $500k. So that means the highway portion of the highway fund each year (for 500 miles of road at $500k a mile) would need to be $250M to keep the roads from crumbling. While the specifics are not known to me, a robust year may see $100M from the FHWA (but that goes to not only roads but bridges, rail, aviation, etc.). That just means we need $150M a year to keep the roads in average to good condition (and more for the bridges and more for the maintenance). However, the FHWA will not contribute to many of the un-engineered maintenance surface treatments as it is not necessarily the fiscally optimal treatment. Also, most if not all of the recent projects cancelled fall under this category and thus, short of rescoping, may not have qualified for stimulus money anyway.

I side with many of you in your beliefs. There is some fat that can be trimmed. I just hope that many of you realize that there is far more to the MaineDOT than shovel leaners, and far more to funding and building a road than many expect. Perhaps someday I'll even post a rant regarding the awful environmental restrictions with which I must comply when trying to design a culvert.

Downeasta - I will look forward to reading your next rant, and thank you for chiming in on the forum!
:)

Editor's Note: Downeasta, thank you for your insight. Point of clarification. Based on what you've written, based on the press release below, the message is - what? - that the $130 million in fed stimulus bonds is already spoken for? Off the table? Unable to be redirected for transportation projects such as road paving? Thank you.

Governor and Federal Officials Provide Update on Recovery Act Progress
06/24/2009

SABATTUS - Governor John E. Baldacci today announced that the State of Maine has made significant progress in meeting goals of the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. According to the federal government, Maine is the first state to commit and advertise 100 percent of its Highway and Bridge funds under the Recovery Act. In addition, Maine is the first state to achieve the requirement to commit 50 percent the Recovery Act Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund programs.

Officials announced the State’s accomplishments at the Sabattus Town Office. One of the four final projects to be advertised by the State for bridge and highway funds is the Route 9 reconstruction in Lisbon and Sabattus, involving 6.75 miles of rural road. The road is an important artery in the central Maine area, connecting the two towns with the Maine Turnpike. More than 6,000 vehicles a day use this road. Along with this reconstruction, MaineDOT began advertising a reconstruction of Route 1A in Ellsworth, rehabilitation of the substructure of the Deer Isle-Sedgwick Bridge, and replacement of the Spruce Head Bridge in South Thomaston. These four projects represent more than $30 million in Recovery Act funds.

“I’m pleased to be here today with the State’s many partners to highlight Maine’s success in Recovery Act implementation,” said the Governor. “Critical infrastructure work to transportation, clean water and drinking water systems are improving quality of life and commerce throughout the State, providing good paying construction jobs, primarily through this summer and fall.”

Data collected from mid-June shows that Maine had 30 bridge and highway Recovery projects underway, directly accounting for 757 jobs created or saved. A total of $130.7 million was awarded to Maine from the Recovery Act.

Most of $29 million Maine received for wastewater infrastructure is being used for projects under construction this summer. These funds will provide important economic benefits including creating an estimated 850 to 1350 jobs.

The Drinking Water Program has worked aggressively to put the $19.5 million in Recovery funds to good use. The Recovery funds were used to leverage base program funds and provide benefit to more than 58 projects totaling more than $40 million.

The Governor said that the Recovery Act is providing benefits for all Mainers.

“The Recovery Act is meeting the goals of creating and saving jobs and building the foundation for long-term economic growth,” said the Governor.

The Governor was joined at press announcement by Jonathan McDade, Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration Maine Division; Stephen Perkins, Acting Deputy Regional Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency; representatives from Maine’s Congressional Delegation; State Legislators; State officials including Commissioner David Cole of the Maine Department of Transportation, Commission David Littell of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and Nancy Beardsley, Director of the Division of Environmental Health at DHHS; local officials from the towns of Sabattus and Lisbon; and members of the Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments and the Androscoggin Transportation Research Center.

Earlier this week, the Maine Department of Education began issuing $24 million of federal Recovery Act funds to school systems, the first of three waves of State Fiscal Stabilization Funds included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that will be sent to school districts.

For project lists and other information about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, visit www.maine.gov/recovery