Long-promised highway coming to Maine

CARIBOU, Maine, July 19 (UPI) -- Construction of a small section of long-promised highway in northern Maine will begin next year with a Caribou bypass, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said.

Collins is a Caribou native.

Another section of the road will be a Presque Isle bypass, The Boston Globe reported Saturday.

The road was first promised 50 years ago as a route connecting the interstate that ends in Houlton in the Southeast corner of Maine with the far north, a vast area more economically distressed than the south.

"Most of the population is in southern Maine, and they do well in good times, and the argument is made that we are a drag on them,'' said Troy Jackson, a logger and state senator from Allagash. "We're trying to do something about that.''

The entire road will be 130 miles and cost between $500 million and $1 billion, the Globe reported. No sections have been scheduled beyond the two bypasses.

Route 1 is a two-lane road through the farm country in the north of Maine.