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Maine committee hears heated debate over repeal of Gorham connector authorization
Summary
LD 1020 would strip the Maine Turnpike Authority’s ability to construct the proposed five‑mile Gorham connector and require disposal or return of acquired land. Supporters — residents, farmers and conservation groups — said the project would damage wetlands and farmland; opponents including Maine DOT and the Turnpike Authority warned a repeal could foreclose options while a new MDOT study proceeds.
The Legislature’s Transportation Committee heard hours of sharply divided testimony Thursday on LD 1020, a bill to remove the Maine Turnpike Authority’s authorization to build a proposed five‑mile Gorham connector and to return or otherwise dispose of land already acquired for the project.
Senator Stacy Brenner, sponsor of the bill, argued the connector would worsen greenhouse‑gas emissions, harm important wetlands such as the Red Brook watershed and cut through generations‑old farmland including Smiling Hill Farm. "Expanding highways only increases vehicle use," Brenner said, urging the committee to let alternative, multimodal solutions be pursued.
Environmental advocates, farmers and many local residents echoed those themes. Rob Codio of Trout…
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