‘Worst Road’ contest underway

Contributed Article

   AUGUSTA — April was the cruelest month in the state, as the weather warmed and potholes popped up on local roads and highways like crocuses in the garden.
   The Maine Better Transportation Association also begins its annual rite of spring: the “Worst Road in Maine Contest.
   The purpose of the contest is to get Maine drivers to consider the impact potholes, ruts and cracking pavement have on their everyday life.

   This year, everyone who completes an entry form will receive a bright orange bumper sticker and the winner will receive the $296 grand prize – the amount Mainers pay in extra maintenance and repair costs due to bad roads, according to TRIP, a Washington, D.C.-based transportation research organization. The contest is currently underway and will continue until May 15, 2015 at midnight.
   “According to Maine  DOT, we should be spending at least $110 million more every year on repairing our roads and bridges, and every day we delay, our roads get rougher,” said Maine Better Transportation Association President Jim Hanley. “That creates safety issues and costs every driver in the state in increased car repair and maintenance.”
   “This contest really is an opportunity for Maine drivers to vent their frustration with rough roads – and to have a little fun,” said Hanley.
   Gabriel Zacchai of Camden, who wrote about a harrowing trip on Route 15 to from Blue Hill to Stonington last spring, won the 2014 Worst Road in Maine contest.
   Seven other entries including Route 15 in Rockwood and Route 7 in Dover-Foxcroft were awarded runners-up certificates.
   According to Maine DOT and Federal Highway Administration data, Maine has 989 miles of highway in poor or worse condition, 789 bridges rated structurally deficient or functionally obsolete and 906 miles of highways ranked poor or worse for safety.
   The 2015 Worst Road in Maine contest ends on Friday, May 15 at midnight EDT. No purchase or payment of any kind is necessary to enter or win this contest.
   To enter, complete a contest entry form and submit a photo at www.fixitnowmaine.org. News and information about the contest also will be posted at www.facebook.com/FixItNowMaine.