As Mainers, we are proud of our Yankee ingenuity. We have a long tradition as tradesmen and women who understand the work that goes into producing a product or sustaining an ecosystem, of thoughtful caretaking to ensure valuable resources are preserved for generations to come.
Today in Maine, we must continue to creatively apply our ingenuity to care for our infrastructure, including reliable electricity, broadband, and roads and bridges. The Maine Legislature has made significant investments in our infrastructure over the last few years, but there is always more to do — and climate change is posing new difficulties that require unique adaptations.
In Phippsburg, a local group was awarded a state grant to study the increased tidal flooding over Sam Day Hill Road. In Arrowsic, part of Route 127 over a marsh is scheduled to be raised soon. In Woolwich, Route 1, where it crosses the Back River Marsh, is now 5 feet higher. Infrastructure affects everyone living in Maine and the services we have access to. We need to continue making strategic investments in our infrastructure that leave our children and communities with a healthy economy that has a good outlook — for both the short-term and into the future.
One of my jobs as a local selectperson is to help with the budget. Built into this budget is a commitment to our infrastructure, and especially our roads and bridges, but also our electricity and communications lines. I’ve been thinking about this as I drive across my legislative district, which includes five small towns in southern and eastern Sagadahoc County, along with the positive changes resulting from state investment in our roads that I look forward to seeing.
Last year, the Legislature’s Transportation Committee worked hard on a bipartisan, two-year budget. The budget invested $200 million to support MaineDOT’s Three-Year Work Plan. These funds will be used to repair state roads, maintain and replace bridges, clear roads of snow and ice, and manage stormwater through culvert replacement. On top of this, our state-level commitments will unlock nearly $1 billion in federal funding, which will help us deal with the backlog of road projects. These historic investments will improve the safety and quality of life of all Mainers and support businesses seeking to stay here or that are considering setting up shop in Maine.
Similarly, investments made by the Legislature in our broadband infrastructure over the last few years have resulted in a wide array of services and funding to get better communication into our rural homes and small businesses — promoting economic growth, education, access to health care and social connection. The expansion of broadband also brings better communication for our emergency personnel when dealing with weather-related events, helping them respond to our residents and businesses more effectively and in a more timely fashion. I’m proud to have been part of the team that is bringing broadband to all residences in Woolwich and several towns in Lincoln County as a result of a grant awarded by the Maine Connectivity Authority.
Second to road health and safety issues, I often hear from constituents about electricity disruptions more than any other topic. And it’s not just outages; it has also involved power surges, affecting both residents and businesses in our communities. The Legislature has also passed several initiatives to address electricity-related challenges over the last few years. This includes strengthening state oversight of Maine’s electric utilities and increasing accountability by requiring the establishment of standards in critical areas, such as reliability and customer service.
We also passed measures aimed at modernizing Maine’s electric grid so that we can continue to improve reliability for Maine consumers, amended existing programs to protect ratepayers while continuing to support clean energy initiatives and increased the state’s goal for energy storage system development. Our society has evolved over time to rely on electricity in our everyday lives, and the Legislature must continue to review measures that adapt our electric infrastructure to meet the needs of Mainers.
Climate change and the need to prepare for resiliency hovers above all of this. If we have any hope of attracting new businesses to our state and maintaining thriving communities, we need to ensure that our infrastructure will provide an attractive environment in which to build our dreams. To do this, we must continue our tradition as trades workers and thoughtful environmentalists, so that all of our careful planning for the future leads to a more resilient and climate-prepared state.
Rep. Allison Hepler is the House chairperson of the Marine Resources Committee and is a member of the Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee as well as the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee. She is serving her third term in the Maine House and represents Arrowsic, Georgetown, Phippsburg, West Bath and Woolwich.