Residents interested in telling the Maine Turnpike Authority’s board of directors what they think of plans to close the Stroudwater Street bridge will have to wait a little bit longer to sound off.

The Authority board’s meeting, originally scheduled for tomorrow (July 28) has been cancelled due to a lack of business. A spokesman from the Turnpike Authority said Monday the earliest the board would discuss the project was at its next meeting on Sept. 8 at the Turnpike Authority’s headquarters located at 430 Riverside St. in Portland. The public is invited to attend this meeting.

The Authority’s spokesman said bid documents for the project have not been issued, and they would not be finalized until the board has voted to approve the project. He said the board is expected to vote on the project at the Sept. 8 meeting.

The Authority’s plan to close the Stroudwater Street bridge for up to a year has angered some residents, who expressed their displeasure with the plan at a public meeting earlier this month. At that meeting, residents attempted to convince the Turnpike Authority to reconsider its plan to completely close the 50-year old bridge while it is being replaced, only to hear from Authority representatives that the decision has already been made to close the bridge, and it was unlikely those plans would be changed.

For more information, call the Turnpike Authority at 871-7771.

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