Here’s something that doesn’t add up…
Maine state government is taking and spending more of your money than EVER before, close to $6 billion a year. That’s nearly double what it spent just ten years ago.
And earlier this summer, the state said it may have to cut or delay up to $400 million in road and bridge work. It has already put off $50 million in paving this summer, with more cuts on the way and possible layoffs for road crews by August.
A government swimming in record revenue is cutting road funding… our critical infrastructure! This is a clear sign of upside down priorities in Augusta.
Update: On July 24, the Mills administration announced Maine closed Fiscal Year 2026 with more than $148 million left over in the General Fund, the fifth surplus year in a row, due to overtaxation of Maine people.
By law, $115.7 million of that goes to the Highway and Bridge Capital Fund, plus another $20.26 million from a separate Highway Fund surplus. Combined, nearly $136 million in one-time money will go to Maine’s roads and bridges.
As a result, MaineDOT Commissioner Dale Doughty says many projects the department had put on hold can now be rescheduled, while he will keep pushing for a long-term solution to this issue.
The state has plenty of money. Roads were just not the priority.
Think about how your own household works. You cover the essentials first, the mortgage or rent, the heat, keeping the car running. The extras come after, IF there is room.
Augusta has done the opposite. Over the last decade, the total amount the state takes in grew by about 75%. But the money set aside for roads and bridges barely moved. The main tax that pays for our roads brings in about the same today as it did more than ten years ago, roughly $200 million a year, even as the cost of asphalt, steel, and concrete has climbed sharply.
So the state got a lot richer. Roads got left behind. That was a CHOICE, made by Augusta Democrats, year after year, as they passed majority budgets without a ⅔ consensus.
“But road money is a separate account”
When you point this out, the standard answer from Augusta is that road money sits in a separate account that by law can only be spent on roads. That part is true. But it is not the excuse it sounds like.
Lawmakers control that account too. They are the ones who let the road tax stay frozen for over a decade. They are the ones who can move money into it. And in 2023 they proved it: a new law steered a slice of the sales tax the state already collects on vehicle purchases over to roads, with no tax increase at all. When lawmakers decide roads matter, they find the money. Most years, they decided other things mattered more.
The part that should make you mad
This neglect is not just a spreadsheet problem. You are already paying for it.
Independent engineers give Maine’s bridges a grade of D+. About one in seven is in poor condition, and more than half are over 50 years old. Rough roads cost the average Maine driver around $575 a year in extra wear, repairs, and blown tires. That is a hidden tax on every commuter and every small business, and it grows every year the work gets put off.
And none of this snuck up on anyone. For more than twenty years, study after study, including a special commission set up by the Governor, has warned that Maine was not putting enough steady money into roads. The warnings were written down. Augusta just did not act on them.
The good news: fixing this does not require a tax hike
Here is what Lead Maine believes, and what the numbers back up.
Mainers are already among the most heavily taxed people in the country. The answer to years of misplaced priorities is NOT to reach deeper into your wallet at the gas pump. The answer is to fund a basic, core job of government out of the record revenue the state already collects.
That is not wishful thinking. It is exactly what the 2023 law did, no tax increase, just a decision to put existing money toward roads. Augusta should do more of that, and it should stop the habit of borrowing to patch roads. Borrowing for routine upkeep is like putting your groceries on a credit card. It feels easier today, but it just hands a bigger bill, with interest, to your kids.
What happens next
This gets decided soon, and it may get decided fast.
Gov. Mills has not said whether she will call lawmakers back for a special session this summer. If she does, the choices will be made quickly, while most people are busy with summer, not watching the statehouse. That is exactly when a basic thing like roads can quietly get traded away.
The big question is which path Augusta takes. One path raises a tax to cover years of poor choices. The other funds roads out of the money the state already has. Watch which one your legislators reach for.
What you can do
Reach out to your state legislators and candidates. The message is simple, and you do not need to be a policy expert to deliver it:
- Fund Maine’s roads out of the record revenue the state already collects.
- Do NOT raise the gas tax to cover years of misplaced priorities.
- Stop borrowing for basic road upkeep.
If the Governor calls a special session, show up or send in a comment. And ask your legislators one question, then hold them to the answer: with the state collecting more money than ever, why are the roads getting cut?
Augusta should prioritize the basics. It is that simple.