AUGUSTA — Legislation seeking $300,000 in state money for a feasibility study of a privately funded east-west highway across Maine won initial approval Tuesday in the state Senate.

The bill passed 19-15 after a debate in which supporters said the project has the potential to create hundreds of jobs as the $2 billion highway takes shape. The bill faces further House and Senate votes.

Opponents said the $300,000 cost of a feasibility study could balloon by hundreds of thousands of dollars, and others suggested that private investors, not taxpayers, should pay for the study.

An east-west highway across the middle of Maine is envisioned as a vital transportation link for industries engaged in agriculture, forest products and energy.

The idea has come up in the past, and it gained new interest this year because the proposal calls for private, not government, funds for the construction. The roughly 230-mile highway would be operated privately and maintained with tolls.

Some lawmakers were wary of the bill calling for $300,000 in state money to pay for the study.

“Nothing in this resolve says it will be (limited to) $300,000. It could be higher,” said Sen. Bill Diamond, D-Windham, adding that the total “could be $400,000 or $500,000.”

Others questioned whether the highway, which would extend from the New Brunswick border in the east to the Quebec border in the west, is really needed.

“I’ve had very few people I represent speak to me about an east-west highway,” said Sen. Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, who represents a part of the state that’s highly dependent on logging. “I actually wonder if this is going to cut off northern Maine even more.”

Supporters of the bill defended the use of public funds for a study, saying it would ensure that the analysis is independent and not swayed by the interests of industries that could benefit from the highway.

Sen. Douglas Thomas, R-Ripley, the bill’s sponsor, said the study would use money left in the Department of Transportation budget from projects that won’t be done.

“We’ll probably save $300,000 on (snow) plowing this winter,” Sen. Roger Sherman, R-Houlton, said as he pleaded for passage. “Please, please, don’t be scared to go about a big thing.”

The bill is supported by Gov. Paul LePage’s administration and several associations representing construction industries, and pulp and paper-making.