HAMPDEN, Maine (AP) — A coalition of nearly 20 community and professional groups is urging passage of Question 4 on next week’s Maine ballot, the $51.5 million bond issue for highways, bridges and other transportation projects.

Among the supporters at a news conference Wednesday in Hampden were d Bangor Mayor Cary Weston, Hampden Town Manager Susan Lessard, David Gelinas of the Penobscot Bay and River Pilots Association, and Irving Smith of H.O. Bouchard Inc., Maine’s largest bulk carrier.

Smith says that in three decades, he’s never seen Maine’s roads and bridges in such disrepair. He says Bouchard’s trucks travel 4.75 million miles in Maine and every mile of bad road costs the company money.