Uncertainty faces the second phase of the Gorham bypass as it competes for tight federal money with other big-ticket transportation projects on a high-priority list proposed for Southern Maine.

Gorham Town Manager David Cole said transportation needs in Greater Portland are great while federal funds are scarce.

“It will probably be a while in coming,” Cole said last week about the possibility of the Phase 2 northern bypass.

The Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation Committee will hear public comment on the northern bypass and the other nine high priority projects on Tuesday, Feb. 12, from 7-9 p.m., at the Clarion Hotel, 1230 Congress St., Portland.

The high-priority list will be pared to two or three projects in March or April. Known as the Northern Gorham Bypass, the project would cost an estimated $35 million. The transportation committee is hoping that Congress would allocate $50 million to$100 million to pay for high-priority projects in Southern Maine in its 2010-2015 budget.

Construction of Phase 1 of the bypass, a southern route around downtown Gorham costing $28 million in federal and state money, got under way last year. It links routes 114 (South Street) with Route 25 west of Gorham Village and intersects with Route 202 (Narragansett Street). The projected opening is June 2009, but it could open as early as this fall.

Phase 2 of the bypass would connect Route 237 with Route 25 in West Gorham. It would cross routes 202 (Gray Road) and 114 (Fort Hill Road). Both phases are aimed at reducing commuter congestion in Gorham Village.

Construction of the five-mile highway is third now on the high-priority list, behind a $30 million rebuild of Veterans Bridge in Portland and $22 million to replace buses for transportation services, including Metro, and a replacement passenger ferry to maintain services to Casco Bay islands.