I don't think the Kentucky coal mining scene is the ideal comparison here or what we should hold up as the aspirational standard for new initiatives. Especially

I don't think the Kentucky coal mining scene is the ideal comparison here or what we should hold up as the aspirational standard for new initiatives. Especially when you say the roads are poorly maintained, and especially when the Maine road in question isn't just some mountain road, it's the main highway through a significant portion of Maine, and a secondary highway (parallel to I 95) through other parts. What you describe on Kentucky sounds minimally adequate for its own needs and not at all comparable to this situation.