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A new study of Maine's roads has prompted a state transportation organization to renew its call for the state to invest $1.5 billion in infrastructure improvements over the next decade.

The Maine Better Transportation Association says that the study from The Road Information Program, based in Washington, D.C., demonstrates the personal and business costs of poor road conditions.

Among the TRIP report findings highlighted by the Maine organization are:

• A fatality rate that is seven times higher on non-interstate and rural roads than on the interstate.
• 31% of the state's locally and state-maintained roads are in poor or mediocre condition, as are 61% of state-maintained roads around Portland and 40% of state-maintained roads around Bangor.
• Drivers spend an average of $299 annually in additional vehicle operating costs due to deteriorated roads.

In a TRIP press release, Poland Spring fleet manager Tom Hathaway, says the water company sends an average of seven tankers a week for stress crack repairs he attributed in part to road quality.

The study cites MDOT figures that call for $150 million annually in road investments over the next 10 years to improve road and bridge conditions.

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