By Amanda Estes

Staff Writer

The Maine Turnpike Authority (MTA) and the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) are asking several municipalities to formally support a Gorham East-West Corridor Feasibility Study to generate solutions for the congested routes between Gorham and Portland.

Part of the study will include exploring the possibility of building a toll road that would connect the Gorham Bypass on Route 25 to the exit 45 vicinity of the turnpike adjacent to the Target retail complex. The connector could help reduce traffic volumes on Routes 114, 25 and 22.

Westbrook City Councilors are expected to vote on the agreement with the MTA and MDOT on Monday – Mayor Bruce Chuluda doesn’t anticipate any issues with the study – and Gorham, Scarborough and South Portland officials all opted to join the agreement this month. The Gorham Town Council voted 6-0 to approve the corridor feasibility study at its Feb. 5 meeting.

In South Portland, however, the agreement passed by a slim margin with a 4-2 vote.

“The answer is not to build a new road,” South Portland City Councilor Tom Blake said, citing greenhouse gas emissions, sprawl and economic uncertainty as reasons not to pursue a highway connection. “I don’t see a lot of benefit for South Portland residents in this. This is low on the radar screen. We have a lot of problems.”

South Portland City Manager James Gailey said supporting the study was not setting the city up to enter into a construction contract.

“It’s just a feasibility study at this point,” he said. “It benefits the city of South Portland because we are now competing to our south and our north for the economic engine. You can’t build a road headed west without strong land use policy on that road because you’re right, it’s going to be sprawl.”

Gailey also suggested it is more environmentally friendly to keep a car moving forward than idling on a congested road.

MTA Government Relations Manager Conrad Welzel said he’s not surprised by the reluctance.

“Right now there are a lot of projects that are being talked about and when there’s a lot of projects being talked about it is not unusual for people to become concerned. They want to make sure we’re not going back to our old ways.”

Welzel said the public wants to be sure the agencies are exploring all of the options and the Gorham East-West study will be broad in scope.

“What are the alternatives that are there to solve this need? That’s what the first phase of the study will do, is take a look at all that. Where are people coming from? What are the purposes of travel? What are they going to? Are there ways to address that whether it’s roads, bicycles, buses or trains?”

According to the memorandum of agreement, the MTA and MDOT will evaluate potential transportation and land use management strategies with the goal of “improv[ing] public safety, relieve present and future traffic congestion and improve access to major transportation facilities in the greater Portland area, including the Maine Turnpike, I-295 and the Portland Jetport.”

The study doesn’t carry any financial obligations, but municipalities will be asked to participate in public hearings and on advisory committees. 

“It will be a public input process and it will also have a strong discussion about the land use plan for that area both between Portland and Gorham, but also the communities to the west of that area and understanding what type of growth and development is going to be happening in those communities,” Welzel said. “It’s not just how many houses, but what are the towns’ zoning and comprehensive plans and what are their expectations?”

Scarborough Town Manager Ron Owens said the connector road could play a role in the future of a section of the Running Hill Road, which could be a site for a mixed use development in accordance with the town’s comprehensive plan. 

“We’re looking to develop the section of Running Hill Road closest to the mall and one of the problems we have to look at is traffic on the road,” Owens said. “It’s a major route in the evening commute and the connector would hopefully take a lot of that traffic off of Running Hill Road.”

South Portland Planning Director Tex Haeuser said he’s hopeful the communities can advocate for additional rights of way as the MTA and MDOT explore the possibility of a connector road.

There could be a potential for trails and bike routes with the extra room, he said.

“I’m looking forward to buses and maybe some other kinds of transit in the corridor,” Haeuser said. 

City councilor Claude Morgan proposed amending the agreement to include the city’s position on developing alternative transportation methods: “We encourage communication and planning with other communities to develop long-term alternative mass transit strategies in the corridor.”

Councilors Blake and Kay Loring, however, remained strong in their opposition.

“It’s almost like they use South Portland,” Loring said, referring to the more rural communities. “I still don’t see any benefit. I am just so tired of construction over by the mall and they talk about blacktop, blacktop, blacktop.”

Gorham Town Manager David Cole said it’s important to explore all of the possibilities.

“I don’t think we’re a rich enough state to say we’re going to take any of the options off the table,” he said.