Maine East-West Highway

So what is everyone's opinion on Maine's proposed east-West Highway?

I have not been to the promotional meetings put on by the proponents of it; that being Cianbro Corporation, but in talking with the Maine Department of Agriculture's Commissioner, he said everyone should go just to hear about the plan. To his credit he did not sway for, nor against it, and said that the proposal had no real impact on Maine's Agriculture so it was primarily a political debate. Some people do say it would provide marketability of farm crops, and others show that it would rip up fields used for agriculture.

I am out of the loop locally speaking because I do not have TV in the house and so never see local news, so I am interested to hear what other Mainer's have to say on the proposal that seams to be getting stoked up.

I think it will benefit Canadians mostly as they whiz from Toronto/Montreal to New Brunswick/Nova Scotia. Mostly goods they can send to seaports in their country, not Eastport which is the hope. They already have the railroad that passes right through Maine into those provinces. I believe it quarters the state of Maine up so they can more easily establish boundaries for the National Park and get the tourist in and out and add in the Canadian tourist from East and West.
Maine already has few natural resources other then its remoteness, some shrubs they call trees, a few potato's, some blueberries, a bunch of seafood resources that they mostly ship into Canada to process now anyways, Because of cheap power and labor and the gov. up there has subsidized the plants to process them.(NAFTA) So what exactly will it do for rural Maine? Other then tourism which is our biggest money maker? It brings the remoteness closer to those that will pay for it.

Kevin

... let the Canadians pay for it

Black_And_Blue wrote:... let the Canadians pay for it

Well said! It'll only benefits them and that's a fact! It's just like the "Caribou Connector" that opened up last year..............big waste in my book. I believe they should've used that money and the East-West highway money that they will spend to extend the I-95 to Fort Kent or Madawaska.

I would not be for it as I agree with Kevin's assesment that it doesn't really benifit Mainer's very much.

I have not heard the publicity stunt, but I was really suspect when the Commissioner of Agriculture said that the company promoting the East-West Highway Project (Cianbro Corp) would "only use private monies to build it", even the commissioner said that he doubted they could do that.

From what little I have heard they are claiming no money will come from public funding and that the Canadian's will pay for the construction within 5 years due to studies they have done...

I don't believe any of those two things, so when I suspect I am being lied to right out of the box, I am not a big proponent of it.

It would benefit the Canadians, but how do you get them to pay for it? Tolls? Or them spending money in Bangor? They already do that!

Kevin

Hell you guys already have some East-West Highways............

ITS 86 goes from Coburn to Greenville to Millinockett and on towards Houlton.
ITS 87 Goes from Rangeley through Pittsfield.
ITS 84 Also goes through Rangeley to Newport to Bangor to Calais
ITS 85 goes from Greenville/Rockwood all the way to FT. Kent.

You already have enough highways..........




Rick

I was not aware of a trail crossing the Penobscot river. If you can get to Calais, you can get to the whole rest of the Downeast region.

Kevin

In Bangor at least.

I don't know.... I think a "highway" would do much for us, but, I know it sucks when you try to leave the state heading due west. I think a better route 2 would be nice. It doesn't need to be a divided highway.

Having married a woman from NH, we head west a lot on Route 2 so I like your idea. A by-pass around that dreadful Rumford area would be nice, along with a throughfare through Dixfield. Other then that, you can motor right a long through most of it...even the most boring stretch of road in Maine...Route 2 from Norrigewoc to Farmington...I hate that stretch of road. Growing up, on the way back from the paper mills in Jay and Rumford, we used to hit 100 mph with those old logging trucks. Ah the memory of the good ole days...

Freddy wrote:I don't know.... I think a "highway" would do much for us, but, I know it sucks when you try to leave the state heading due west. I think a better route 2 would be nice. It doesn't need to be a divided highway.

I am not aware of one either. Funny you can go from Searsport to the County in one long shot, but going to Washington County is impossible.

From my house to Millinockett it is only 120 miles by sled and you can leave in the morning and have lunch there.

We used to do what we call "the loop" which is leave my house, go to Pittsfield, go up into Bingham and then the Forks, take the trail up to Pittston Farm, go over to Northeast Carry, down in Greenville, then down to Dover-Foxcroft, then take the railroad bed into Newport, then drop back home through Plymouth. At first we never had the sleds and someone would lose a sled and have to go back on a rescue mission, but now that the trails are better, and the sleds are more reliable, this is a day trip...a long one granted, but one that can be done just the same.

KLook wrote:I was not aware of a trail crossing the Penobscot river. If you can get to Calais, you can get to the whole rest of the Downeast region.

Kevin

In Bangor at least.

This has nothing to do with the east west highway proposal but I know my fellow Mainer's will relate!

C'mon Steve,

He's using Bud Light and not Moosehead or LaBatts or Molson ???


No wonder why he isn't catching anything !!!!!




Rick

Rick 386 wrote:C'mon Steve,

He's using Bud Light and not Moosehead or LaBatts or Molson ???


No wonder why he isn't catching anything !!!!!




Rick

Yep totally agree Rick. A nice Belgian wheat might catch something.