Archived News

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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View two related stories:

New bridge links Maine, N.H. – The opening of the Memorial Bridge renews a connection between Kittery and Portsmouth (Portland Press Herald)

Portsmouth, Kittery, two states celebrate new Memorial Bridge (SeaCoastOnline.com)

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.

Click here to read the whole article online

View two related stories:

Community feels ‘whole again’ with Memorial Bridge opening (SeaCoastOnline.com)

New bridge links Maine, N.H. – The opening of the Memorial Bridge renews a connection between Kittery and Portsmouth (Portland Press Herald)

You Can’t Get There from Here: Eastern Trail connection between South Portland, Scarborough remains elusive, expensive

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.

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Group’s goal is to extend trail south from Kennebunk to Kittery

The Kennebunk Post – By Alex Acquisto,Staff Writer

The Eastern Trail Alliance and Southern Eastern Trail Alliance have begun to set new plans for expanding into motion.

Optimally, the off-road trail will continue from South Portland through Wells, North and South Berwick and Eliot, all the way down to Kittery. The alliance held an informational meeting Tuesday, March 26 in North Berwick to discuss expansion plans and feel out any opposition.

Formally designed in 1998 to follow the abandoned Eastern Railway, the Eastern Trail was constructed for runners, hikers, bikers and other general outdoor enthusiasts.

Nearly every year since the millennium, new paths have been forged between South Portland and Kennebunk.

“There was some reluctance in southern Maine about the trail — there was skepticism whether the trail would ever get built over the Kennebunk turnpike,” said Deborah Erickson Irons, director of Choose to Be Healthy Coalition and Eastern Trail Alliance trustee.

“People wondered, ‘Will we ever get the benefits of the trail down here?’ To the town’s credit, they have been patient and now they see that the trail is ready in Kennebunk. We’re over the hurdle of putting it over the turnpike,” she said.

“We’re seeking funding to extend the offroad trail from where it is in Kennebunk now, farther south,” said Erickson-Irons. “We wanted to start generating interest in the south, so we formed a small committee to focus on North Berwick and South Berwick.”

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Tuesday, March 19, 2013

NORTH BERWICK, Maine — An informational presentation, “The Eastern Trail: A Trail and a Vision” will be held at 7 pm on Tuesday, March 26 at the North Berwick Community Center, 264 Lebanon Road in North Berwick. Anyone interested in learning about the Eastern Trail is invited to attend.

Have you driven I-95 through Kennebunk and seen the beautiful span over the highway that is part of the Eastern Trail? The off-road Eastern Trail currently ends at the Kennebunk Elementary school, but the vision of trail enthusiasts in southern Maine is for the off-road trail to continue through Wells, North Berwick, South Berwick, Eliot, and Kittery.

The Eastern Trail Alliance is the focused effort to vision, build, promote and use the trail. The Alliance includes many supporters from throughout southern Maine, hikers, bikers, X-country skiers, birders, and other outdoor enthusiasts dedicated to creating, enjoying and maintaining the Eastern Trail.

Panel presenters on March 26 will share the history of building the off-road Eastern Trail, future plans for the trail, reasons to support the trail, and answer your questions regarding the project. Presenters will include Eastern Trail Management District President and Arundel Town Planner Tad Redway; Eastern Trail Alliance President and Saco City Planner Bob Hamblen; and Choose To Be Healthy Coalition Director Deborah Erickson-Irons. Coffee, juice and small desserts will be served.

— About the Eastern Trail —
The Eastern Trail is a 65 mile section of the East Coast Greenway, a transportation-recreation greenway connecting South Portland to Kittery. The scenic on-road trail mostly follows quiet country roads. Bike riders, walkers, and hikers can enjoy outdoor experiences from South Portland’s Bug Light Park on Casco Bay (near Portland) to Kittery’s Piscataqua River. In addition to the on-road trail, the Eastern Trail has the growing length of off-road sections.

For more information about the trail and about the meeting, please go to www.easterntrail.org, call The Eastern Trail Alliance office at 207-284-9260, or call Deborah Erickson-Irons at 207-351-2659.

The Eastern Trail Management District (ETMD) is a group of representatives from each Eastern Trail town that manages the construction and upkeep of the trail. Below is ETMD’s Spring 2013 newsletter: