I was concerned when I heard from a friend via e-mail that they had read in the Portland Press Herald on Tuesday, July 12, 2005 that the Maine Turnpike Authority is planning on closing the bridge connecting Stroudwater Street in Westbrook to Portland effective Fall 2005. I was even more alarmed when I learned that the meeting at Westbrook High School to hear residents concerns would be held just two days later on Thursday, July 14. Upon such short notice I was at least glad to hear of the meeting so I could go and make my opinion and relevant concerns noted; however, I was soon rudely awakened to hear Mr. Paradee of the Maine Turnpike Authority (MTA), that the MTA has already made their decision to close the Stroudwater Street bridge regardless of public opinion. I was wondering why this was the first time I was hearing of such a thing? And if the decision has already been made why were we sitting there in a meeting?

Mr. Paradee and other MTA related officials present at the meeting stated they had extensively advertised in newspapers, and on the news, that they were proposing this project as a bridge closure; as a citizen of Westbrook I contest this. There has been no specific advertisement placed in the local community Westbrook paper, The American Journal, until July 13, 2005, one day before the public meeting.

The officials at MTA stated a study of traffic flow conducted in 2003, demonstrated the volume of cars on Stroudwater Street is 8,470 vehicles per day, yet a study conducted by a community facility on Stroudwater Street later in 2004 showed more than 12,000 vehicles. I think the MTA doesn’t have all of their figures straight. A Fact Sheet given out by the MTA at the July 14 meeting states, under the planning section, “In April of 2005, the Turnpike Authority met with Portland residents and officials at the Stroudwater Neighborhood meeting.” The fact sheet never mentions meeting with Westbrook officials. When MTA was questioned about this by public citizens at Thursday’s meeting, MTA was unable to state who they talked to in the city of Westbrook about the planned bridge closing. The MTA acknowledged they told the city in December of 2004 they would at some point in the future be making a new bridge but nothing about a definite intent to close the bridge during construction. I did some homework and found out that the MTA presented bridge construction plans to the city of Westbrook’s Highway committee on June 13, 2005. This meeting was not advertised in our local paper for an opportunity to have citizens present.

In attendance at the July 14 meeting included a Westbrook city councilor, the mayor of Westbrook, and a city of Westbrook state representative. The state representative and city council member both acknowledged that they were not aware of the planned closing of the Stroudwater Street bridge. One citizen stood up and told the MTA they had been “caught with their pants down.” It seems that the MTA had some difficulty recalling who and what they told their plans to.

The MTA did some traffic studies per the fact sheet on local intersections, their volume of traffic and how diverting vehicles to other areas of the surrounding communities would be impacted. Unfortunately, they forgot some major intersections including Forest and Main Street, or Bridge Street and Main Street, or Saco Street and County Road. If you take the 12,000 vehicles and make them take alternate routes, including the Maine Turnpike, the MTA stands to make a nice sum of money. If 12,000 vehicles begin taking the Turnpike just eight times a month at 60 cents a trip, the MTA would collect $57,600, times the proposed one year closure equals $691,200.

The MTA did have three proposed construction plans, including 1) constructing the bridge while maintaining one lane of traffic over the bridge, 2) constructing the bridge while maintaining one lane of traffic in a single direction throughout the project, or 3) closing the bridge during the construction. One citizen at the July 14 meeting proposed having one lane of traffic with incoming vehicles to pass to Portland in the morning hours and then outbound of Portland in the evening hours. Maintaining traffic over the bridge throughout construction would extend the duration of the bridge construction per MTA to 18 months, verses 12 months with closing the bridge. The MTA states the cost of extending the time from 12 to 18 months of construction would cost the MTA an estimated $400,000 more. With the alternate traffic now possibly being forced to take the Turnpike it appears they would make their money up and then some.

It was apparent to me at the July 14 meeting that the Maine Turnpike Authority gravely neglected to take into account the surrounding communities including but not limited to Westbrook, Gorham, Windham, Buxton, Standish, and their traffic volume impact by proposing to close this main artery to Portland and other portions of Southern Maine communities. I find it highly disrespectful that the Maine Turnpike Authority lacked the insight or willingness to notify local government and city officials, businesses, churches, and citizens of their plans that will so greatly affect our area.

Michelle Eugley

Austin Street

Westbrook

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