Many articles about the Eastern Trail are organized on this news archives page. The most recent articles appear immediately below, with the first part of each article displayed. Click on any article title, or the “Read More..” link to read the full text of that article.
The Scarborough Leader, by Michael Kelley Staff Writer
SCARBOROUGH — A scenic route connecting the Piscataqua River and Casco Bay is one step closer to being completed.
Last week Scarborough Town Planner Dan Bacon and representatives from the Eastern Trail Alliance unveiled a preliminary plan to extend the Eastern Trail in Scarborough to the Wainwright Recreation Complex, the beginning of South Portland’s Greenbelt Walkway.
The Greenbelt Walkway is a 5.7-mile trail that runs from the Scarborough/South Portland town line to Portland Breakwater Lighthouse in Bug Light Park. The Eastern Trail starts near Route 103 in Kittery and ends at the Nonesuch River in Scarborough.
The proposed 1-mile trail would rely heavily on Central Maine Power corridors to extend toward Pleasant Hill Road, across the Pan-Am railroad line and past the pond behind Pond Cove drive before crossing into South Portland and ending at the Wainwright complex.
Bacon said extending the Eastern Trail into South Portland has been a longtime goal for town and Eastern Trail officials. Doing so has not been an easy task.
“It’s a complicated area to spread a trail through, but it is a high priority for the town and a very high priority for the region,” Bacon said.
Bob Bowker, vice president of the Eastern Trail Alliance, said the trail has come a long way since it was first envisioned 15 years ago as a place for people to walk, bike and run while enjoying nature.
Since then the trail has been expanded, including a section between Biddeford and Kennebunk in 2010 and Saco and Old Orchard Beach in 2011.
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Here are stwo other local news reports on the Eastern Trail project in Scarborough:
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The Forecaster, Thursday, November 14, 2013 at 9:20 am
SCARBOROUGH — Steps to improve highway transportation and off-road recreation were taken last week by town officials, but the end results could be years away.
On Nov. 6, councilors unanimously endorsed a preliminary report justifying a new Maine Turnpike exit near mile 40, at the Saco-Scarborough boundary.
Two days before that, Town Planner Dan Bacon hosted a public meeting outlining a proposed connection for the Eastern Trail, from the east bank of the Nonesuch River to the South Portland Greenbelt at the Wainwright Athletic Fields.
[Note: Details about the discussion of the turnpike study are not shown here – read the full online story for these details.]
The DOT also funded the $150,000 study on how to complete about a mile of the Eastern Trail, a project that would require at least two bridges and carry a preliminary estimated cost of $3 million to $3.5 million.
“It is incredibly complex … but a very high priority for the town and the region,” Bacon said.
The Eastern Trail extends from Kittery to Bug Light Park in South Portland, with few gaps. One large gap exists at the Saco River between Saco and Biddeford.The trail extends to the Nonesuch River in Scarborough, but the official marked route to South Portland follows Black Point Road to Highland Avenue to Gary L. Maietta Parkway.
Dan Cote, a project engineer with the Westbrook office of HNTB Corp., said the trail extension from the river would mostly use a Central Maine Power Co. right of way, but would require a 22.5-foot-tall bridge over the Pan Am Railways tracks.
Bacon estimated the bridge could cost $750,000.
The trail is largely built along old Eastern Railroad rail beds. Granite supports for the old bridge over the Nonesuch River are sturdy enough to hold a new prefabricated bridge that Cote said might look like the one crossing Scarborough Marsh.
“It is by far the most challenging trail section we have been engaged with,” Cote said of the last connection in Scarborough.
Once across Pleasant Hill Road, the proposed trail route would skirt the east side of Prout’s Pond on land owned by the Maine Turnpike Authority.
Bacon said the work depends on funding.
“It could be one year, it could be two or three, given the lack of transportation funding there is right now,” he said.
Read the full online story here
Here are two other local news reports on the Eastern Trail project in Scarborough:
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By Michael Kelley, Staff Writer
SCARBOROUGH – A scenic route connecting the Piscataqua River and Casco Bay is one step closer to being completed.
Last week Scarborough Town Planner Dan Bacon and representatives from the Eastern Trail Alliance unveiled a preliminary plan to extend the Eastern Trail in Scarborough to the Wainwright Recreation Complex, the beginning of South Portland’s Greenbelt Walkway.
The Greenbelt Walkway is a 5.7-mile trail that runs from the Scarborough/South Portland town line to Portland Breakwater Lighthouse in Bug Light Park. The Eastern Trail starts near Route 103 in Kittery and ends at the Nonesuch River in Scarborough.
The proposed 1-mile trail would rely heavily on Central Maine Power corridors to extend toward Pleasant Hill Road, across the Pan-Am railroad line and past the pond behind Pond Cove drive before crossing into South Portland and ending at the Wainwright complex.
Bacon said extending the Eastern Trail into South Portland has been a longtime goal for town and Eastern Trail officials. Doing so has not been an easy task.
“It’s a complicated area to spread a trail through, but it is a high priority for the town and a very high priority for the region,” Bacon said.
Bob Bowker, vice president of the Eastern Trail Alliance, said the trail has come a long way since it was first envisioned 15 years ago as a place for people to walk, bike and run while enjoying nature. Since then the trail has been expanded, including a section between Biddeford and Kennebunk in 2010 and Saco and Old Orchard Beach in 2011.
“In 15 years there has been a lot accomplished with the Eastern Trail,” Bowker said. “Despite the fact we have over 20 miles of trails available, these projects left some gaps.”
Here are two other local news reports on the Eastern Trail project in Scarborough:
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Biddeford, ME – Funding from Biddeford Savings is helping thousands of hiking, biking and outdoor enthusiasts enjoy southern Maine’s Eastern Trail.
The bank provided full funding for the printing of 10,000 maps of the Eastern Trail, a 65-mile section of the East Coast Greenway, a transportation-recreation greenway connecting Kittery, in southernmost Maine, to Casco Bay in South Portland. The Eastern Trail has a growing span of off-road sections, as well as scenic on-road trails designed to follow primarily quiet country roads. Experienced bike riders and hikers can enjoy a beautiful journey from South Portland’s Bug Light Park on Casco Bay to Kittery on the Piscataqua River.
“We couldn’t be more pleased to partner with Biddeford Savings on our map initiative,” says Bob Hamblen, president of the Eastern Trail Alliance, the organization founded to vision, build, promote and use the Eastern Trail. “The public was immediately sold on the maps, so much so that we went through the first printing in a matter of months. Biddeford Savings stepped up and agreed to fund a second printing. This is a wonderful opportunity for residents and tourists to use the Trail this summer and throughout the year.”
Along with the map effort, Biddeford Savings also provided support for The Saco Bikes for Kids campaign, an effort sponsored by the Saco Parks and Recreation Department to promote healthy lifestyles and the use of the Eastern Trail by area youth. A total of 46 contributors provided funds to purchase 25 new bikes and equipment for local children.
“At Biddeford Savings, we help define the path to prosperity for our customers,” says Charles Petersen, bank president and CEO. “And prosperity can come in many forms. When we were approached by the Eastern Trail Alliance to support the printing of the maps, we thought it was an excellent way to demonstrate how we put concepts into practice. The Saco Bikes for Kids campaign also seemed like a perfect fit to encourage healthier lifestyles. By using the Eastern Trail, people of all ages will prosper by enjoying the healthful benefits of the outdoors in our beautiful coastal region. The Eastern Trail is truly a gem that we want everyone to discover.”
You can download PDF files of this brochure here.
Biddeford Savings, an independent, community-focused mutual savings bank founded in 1867, has offices in Biddeford, Kennebunk, Scarborough, and Waterboro. To learn more, visit biddefordsavings.com.
The Associated Press
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — New Hampshire and Maine celebrated the opening of a new bridge Thursday that has become a steel symbol of their past cooperation and their commitment to future commerce.
The $81.4 million Memorial Bridge between Portsmouth and Kittery, Maine, replaces one that was built in 1923 and closed two years ago.
As she did 90 years ago at age 5, former Portsmouth mayor Eileen Foley did the ribbon-cutting honors, riding across the bridge in a golf cart with a bouquet of flowers on her lap. The crowd cheered as she cut the ribbon, then sang “God Bless America.”
New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan noted that the bridge includes state-of-the-art technology to meet the needs of modern commerce and travel, yet echoes the look and feel of the original.
“The new bridge reminds us all of the historic connection between Maine and New Hampshire as well as our shared economic future,” she said. “The new Memorial Bridge will once again link the downtown areas of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Kittery, Maine, and support the business, social, tourism and cultural activities of both communities and the entire seacoast region.”
After the ceremony, hundreds of people swarmed over the bridge, the only one of the three over the Piscataqua River that is open to pedestrian and bicycle traffic. Joanne Bisson, who lives just over the bridge in Kittery, said she was thrilled to cross it once again.
“It’s a vital link. We walk in and enjoy Portsmouth,” she said. “It’s just community.”
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By Charles McMahon
cmcmahon@seacoastonline.com
August 09, 2013 2:00 AM
PORTSMOUTH — They came on foot and by bike, Segways, motorized carts, kayaks, Jet Skis, boats and even antique cars. Some brought their dogs, others brought their babies. Many carried cameras, hoping to capture the historic moment.
The opening of the Memorial Bridge on Thursday, a moment nearly two years in the making, drew a few thousand people to both downtown Portsmouth and Badger’s Island in Kittery, Maine.
And by all accounts, from transportation officials to local elected officials to civilians and veterans alike, the sentiment was much the same.
“It’s a glorious day on the Seacoast,” said Keith Cota, project manager for the N.H. Department of Transportation, the agency in charge of the $82.7 million bridge project.
“I feel whole again,” said Portsmouth Mayor Eric Spear, who was among the first people to ride across the bridge in a 1926 Model T Ford.
For most of the spectators who gathered on either side of the bridge Thursday, the momentous occasion marked a reconnection of two states and two communities.
“The bridge brings two communities together who have supported and stood by each other throughout this process,” said George Dow, chairman of the Kittery Town Council.
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By Deborah McDermottdmcdermott@seacoastonline.com
August 09, 2013 2:00 AM
KITTERY, Maine — The sense of anticipation was palpable Thursday morning on Badger’s Island. This was the day. This was the moment Memorial Bridge would open. People were smiling. Hugging. Slapping each other on the back.
What a day!
It was a day to celebrate one state, New Hampshire, working with its sister state, Maine. It was a day to commemorate the bond of the city of Portsmouth, N.H., with the town of Kittery. It was a day of community and pride, a historic day for a 21st-century bridge.
It took years, and more than years, to get to this point. In January 2009, Kittery resident Ben Porter put out a survey. “How important is this bridge?” he asked. From that moment, the Seacoast began to coalesce.
I think what it does for me is it reinforces the power of the whole community,” said Porter, who went on to form the citizens group Save Our Bridges. “I may have sparked it, but once it took hold, it took on a life of its own.”
Porter joined hundreds of people who processed across the bridge Thursday morning — people who each played a part. U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., held the hands of her children as she walked. Members of the bridge advisory committee hobnobbed with U.S. senators from Maine and New Hampshire. Hard-hatted construction workers strolled with state transportation officials.
Their walk ended where, just a short time later, a frail but smiling Eileen Foley, a beloved former mayor of Portsmouth, officially cut the ribbon to symbolically open the bridge. Now 95, she was just 5 years old on that long-ago day in August 1923, when she cut the ribbon for the first Memorial Bridge.
As throngs of people cheered her on, Foley rode up in a golf cart, family members in tow, to the sounds of “Rocky Fanfare” played by the Portsmouth Brassworks.
“We love you,” some in the crowd yelled.
When the cart stopped, her daughter, Mary Carey Foley, asked the former mayor whether she wanted to stand up to cut the ribbon.
“Yes,” she said decisively.
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Published:Friday, July 26, 2013 12:05 PM EDT
SACO — Saco Parks and Recreation participants are now riding the Eastern Trail in style.
The Saco Bikes for Kids campaign, a local effort to promote use of the Eastern Trail and healthy lifestyles among youth, debuted 25 shiny, new bikes and helmets Thursday morning. Local parks and recreation summer campers took an inaugural ride on the Diamondback trail bikes at the John R. Andrews Eastern Trail pedestrian bridge.
The bikes and equipment, which will be used by children in the city’s parks and recreation program, were purchased from funds collected over the past year from 46 contributors, as well as a penny fundraiser organized by the children at Saco Parks and Recreation.
Read the entire article online here.
SCARBOROUGH — If the “Bridge Out” sign is not enough, the drop down to the Nonesuch River from where a bridge used to cross the river is a vivid reminder of the obstacles blocking the off-road linkage of the Eastern Trail to South Portland.
But as a $150,000 study funded by the Maine Department of Transportation progresses, Town Planner Dan Bacon and Eastern Trail Alliance President Bob Hamblen are aware the water crossing may be the easiest part of constructing a 1.5-mile trail section to the Wainwright Field Athletic Complex in South Portland.
“There’s a reason this segment is not built,” Bacon said. “At least in Scarborough, it is the most complex section to create a trail.”
From Route 35 in Kennebunk to Bug Light Park in South Portland, for about 21 miles, the trail is largely off road, with the section between Thornton Academy in Saco and the eastern end of Scarborough Marsh primarily following the railbed of the defunct Eastern Railroad. It crosses the Saco River on Main Street in Saco, but there are pedestrian bridges spanning the Maine Turnpike in Kennebunk and U.S. Route 1 in Saco.
But getting to South Portland from Scarborough requires going south on Black Point Road, and east on Highland Avenue to Gary Maietta Parkway. There the trail becomes part of the South Portland Greenbelt Walkway, extending almost seven more miles to the coast.
“Crossing the (Nonesuch) river is comparatively one of the easier things to solve,” Bacon said. “We can drop a bridge into the existing abutments.”
Hamblen, who is also the Saco city planner, agreed.
“We recognize the Scarborough connector as one of the more complicated projects we will have dealt with,” he said.
Click here to read the entire article online at TheForecaster.net
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