Closing the gap: Long-sought Eastern Trail project is finally moving toward completion
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD | Sat, July 12, 2025
Jul. 12—SCARBOROUGH — On the surface, the construction of just over a mile and a half’s worth of trail may not sound like a huge deal for southern Maine. You could also assume a project of that length would be straightforward.
But you’d be sorely mistaken — at least when it comes to the “Close the Gap” project on the Eastern Trail, a venture over a decade in the making that conservationists, transportation experts, and municipal and state officials all believe will have a profound regional impact.
After years of delays caused by everything from difficulty securing easements to a global pandemic, the 1.6-mile project is — at last — starting to take shape, with construction having begun in June.
When the Eastern Trail Alliance launched its first fundraising campaign, it believed the gap could be closed by 2017, at a cost of $4.1 million. If all goes smoothly from here, it will be just 10 years behind schedule and nearly $3 million over budget.
Just getting to this point has required years of determination, patience and perseverance.
“This project is a huge win not only for Scarborough and South Portland, but for the entire region,” said Joshua Reny, South Portland assistant city manager. “The perseverance of all of the stakeholders, partners and donors who brought the project to this critical point deserves acknowledgment.”
THE SPINE
The Eastern Trail, part of U.S. Bike Route 1, runs roughly 65 miles from South Portland to Kittery. While a mere 1.6 miles of fresh trail is being blazed in Scarborough, it will solidify a roughly 16-mile off-road connection between Bug Light Park in South Portland and downtown Saco.
The new section of trail is expected to be completed by November 2027.
“One of the biggest challenges right now for anyone using active transportation is north-south connectivity and doing it in a safe way,” said Chris Chop, transportation director for the Greater Portland Council of Governments. “This project, closing the gap, creates a continuous off-road network that connects recreational areas, downtowns and schools.”
Closing the gap is “a huge deal,” said Chop, who likened the Eastern Trail to U.S. Route 1 for off-road transportation.
In Scarborough, the northern, off-road segment of the Eastern Trail currently ends at the Nonesuch River, where a bridge is being constructed to begin filling the 1.6-mile gap. From there, the new portion of the trail will turn south, then curve east and across some railroad tracks. As it heads east, the path will stretch through a power corridor until it runs into Pleasant Hill Road, where a crosswalk with flashing pedestrian signals will be installed.
From Pleasant Hill Road, the trail will loop around Prouts Pond and north to the Wainwright Sports Complex in South Portland. Wainwright provides a connection to the Greenbelt multiuse path, which extends to Bug Light Park.
Dakota Hewlett, the Maine Department of Transportation’s active transportation planner, described the trail as “the spine for biking and walking” in the region.
“From that spine, municipalities are able to connect to that, into neighborhoods or business areas, downtowns, beaches — all those destinations we can think of in southern Maine,” Hewlett said.
The new link could be “a real game-changer,” said Scott Kunkler, the Scarborough Land Trust’s conservation director.
“The connection goes beyond just recreation,” he said. “It could encourage more people to choose active transportation options for daily commutes or errands, helping to reduce reliance on vehicles.”
FINDING THE TRAILHEAD
It’s difficult to pinpoint when the Close the Gap project officially came to be.
It can be traced to the early 2000s, when the idea first gained traction, or to 2012, when the first fundraising campaign was launched, or to 2017, when formal plans began to take shape.