Figure 1. Study Area based on the 2012 Study
The Purpose of the Gorham Connector is to address demonstrated transportation safety and mobility deficiencies within the Gorham-Portland corridor by implementing improvements that maximize public safety, the sustainable mobility of people and goods, and minimize adverse community and environmental impacts.
- Gorham, January 2024
Figure 2. Proposed Alignment
The proposed Gorham Connector represents the culmination of over 35 years of planning and study involving local municipalities, regional planning organizations, and state agencies. In response to ongoing congestion and safety challenges, the Maine State Legislature passed LO 1720 in 2007, which directed the Maine Turnpike Authority (MTA) and Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) to collaborate on developing effective long-term solutions. This effort led to the 2012 Gorham EastÂ-West Feasibility Study, which analyzed various roadway improvement scenarios to enhance mobility, safety, and reduce congestion. The study recommended an integrated approach, including a hybrid urban and rural land use development strategy, expanding transit services, and either widening existing roadways or constructing a new roadway. Details of the scenarios considered, and the process are outlined in the 2012 Study.
Figure 3. Traffic within the study area
Building on the 2012 Study, the 2015 Transit Supportive Development Study, coordinated by the Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation System (PACTS), focused on community-centered planning to provide transportation alternatives beyond automobile travel. This study, involving PACTS and six municipalities, aimed to concentrate development in growth centers and align land use and infrastructure policies with public preferences. lt identified potential growth centers and noted the need to address existing vehicle congestion to promote alternative transportation modes. Following these studies the 2017 Maine Legislature approved LO 905, P.L. 68, to explore whether widening existing roads or constructing a new roadway would best address the identified mobility and safety issues. In 2018, the MTA Board authorized further studies to evaluate corridor options, financial feasibility, and community engagement. The 2019 MTA Traffic & Revenue Study confirmed the need for additional road capacity, which was reaffirmed in 2023 with updated forecasts.
Additional research and evaluations are anticipated to further refine the Gorham Connector project. Following the foundational 2012 Gorham East-West Feasibility Study and the 2015 Transit Supportive Development Study, ongoing efforts will focus on more detailed analyses of potential corridor options, financial feasibility, and community impact. Past, current, and potential studies are listed towards the bottom of this page.
Figure 4. Gorham Connector Timeline (subject to change)
Since 2019, meetings have been held with state and federal regulatory and resource agencies. In addition, all landowners potentially affected by a new roadway have been engaged via both mail and in face-to-face, door-to-door conversations. Groups such as GPCOG/PACTS, Portland Trails, Bicycle Coalition of Maine, GrowSmart, western municipalities (including Buxton, Hollis, Limington, and Standish), and planners from the four MOA signatory municipalities have received numerous briefings on the proposed project.
To learn more about the public process visit the Public Involvement Page for up-to-date information.
Before the completion of the Gorham Bypass in 2008, the four municipalities of Gorham, South Portland, Scarborough, and Westbrook signed a joint resolution requesting the Maine Turnpike Authority (MTA) and MaineDOT conduct a study to analyze the feasibility of a new connector linking the Gorham Bypass with the Maine Turnpike and 1-295. This joint resolution in 2007 led to the creation of LD 1720, passed by the 123rd Maine State Legislation, directing the MTA and MaineDOT to study roadway connections between communities in western Cumberland County and the Maine Turnpike. The goal was to decrease congestion on regional and local roads. This feasibility study was conducted between 2009 and 2012.
In 2017, the Maine State Legislature approved LD 905, a bill authorizing and directing MTA to evaluate alternatives for a new roadway in the Greater Portland Region, following the guidance set forth by Maine's Sensible Transportation Policy Act (STPA). Select boards and council members from the four directly impacted municipalities endorsed the bill in a joint resolve presented to the Transportation Committee of the Maine State Legislature.
The purpose of the 2012 Study was to identify and assess a range of possible solutions to area transportation and land use needs, resulting in the identification of prudent, reasonable, feasible and fiscally responsible transportation and land use strategies in accordance with Maine's STPA, Maine's Growth Management Act, and the Federal National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This study complied with STPA by requiring a full evaluation of reasonable transportation alternatives including a No-Build scenario. Three core initiatives were identified from the study as necessary to maximize transportation efficiency in the region including:
The 2012 Study concluded that the three recommendations would result in the most effective solution when integrated with one another.
With the collaboration of Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation System (PACTS) and six local municipalities (Gorham, Scarborough, South Portland, Standish, Portland, and Westbrook), the 2015 Transit Supportive Development Study assessed best practices and options for community centered planning that could provide alternative transportation choices to automobiles. This study was coordinated by PACTS and was the second phase of the 2012 Gorham East West Corridor Feasibility Study. Land use and infrastructure policies, along with the public's expressed desires, respective to each municipality included in the Study Area were compared and utilized to inform how to best concentrate development supportive policies into specific growth centers. This 2015 Study identified potential growth centers and characteristics that would make these locations attractive to higher density and transit supportive development. However, existing traffic congestion in these potential growth centers was identified as a barrier to alternative modes of transportation, such as bus transit and safe bicycle and pedestrian access.
Key elements of this study were forecasting traffic volumes for No Build, Widened Roadway, and New Roadway alternatives. Other elements of the study were determining the financial feasibility of operating the Gorham Connector as a toll road, engaging Potentially affected landowners, desktop analyses of natural resources and subsequent permitting requirements, and facilitating partnership between the involved municipalities to fulfill land use, mobility, and environmental goals. The 2019 Traffic and Revenue Study was an essential precursor to a broader reaching analysis of alternatives.
Study findings:
A report summarizing Indirect Land Effects (ILE) analysis findings for the Gorham Connector, a new, tolled, 4-lane controlled access roadway proposed to resolve decades of documented safety and mobility deficiencies in the region west of Portland, Maine.
This study will evaluate the feasibility and opportunities for new and expanded transit services and active transportation (including walking and cycling) facilities directly attributable to the MTA Gorham Connector. It is funded and lead by the Maine Department of Transportation (Maine DOT) and will evaluate opportunities associated with travel time savings, changing travel patterns and land available for transportation purposes including but not limited to new multiuse paths, transit stops and Park & Ride facilities. This study will provide the public, local and state officials with a better understanding of multi-modal opportunities and both capital and operating costs for expanded transit and active transportation facilities if the Gorham Connector is constructed and open to the public.
An updated traffic analysis is underway to further assess the impact of COVlD-19 on the commuting panerns of people given the change to remote working during the pandemic. This remains a barrier to implementing local land use focused on village patterns and bus transit. lnitial data suggests that traffic volumes exceed pre-COVID-19 levels, albe it with changed distribution patterns, resulting in congestion and idling within the study area.
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