Maine DOT launches NEPA review for proposed second Skowhegan bridge; downtown option emphasized

At a public meeting in Skowhegan, Maine Department of Transportation officials outlined the kickoff of the environmental review and preliminary engineering for a proposed second bridge over the Kennebec River. Matt Groffs, a planner for the Maine Department of Transportation and project manager, said, “This is the kickoff in the initial public meeting for this phase of process,” and urged public comment via printed forms and a project story map.

Project staff and consultants reviewed prior studies that narrowed the alternatives. Pete Walker, a project manager working with the consulting team, summarized the 2021 feasibility study and a 2024 transportation master plan, saying those earlier analyses confirmed the need for a second crossing and “pointed very strongly to the benefits of locating that new bridge in the downtown area.” He described the federal National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) as the governing framework for the next phase and said that NEPA…