The Maine Department of Transportation has asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a permit to put fill below high water marks of several streams and wetlands in building the Gorham bypass.
Gorham Town Manager David Cole said Monday it is gratifying that the permit process is underway. “It’s a required step,” Cole said about the MDOT application. “It has taken us 50 years to get to this point,” Cole said.
Congress earmarked money for phase 1 of the bypass in a federal transportation bill approved last year. Gorham, which has conducted several studies, had sought a traffic relief route since the 1950s. A bypass would improve public safety and ease rush hour traffic congestion in Gorham Village.
The first phase takes a southerly route around Gorham Village, linking Route 114 (South Street) just south of the Waterhouse Road to Route 25 (Ossipee Trail) west of Cressey Road. Phase two, which was not funded, would be a northerly route, linking Mosher’s Corner with Route 25 in West Gorham. The Southern and Northern routes each would have two travel lanes. The two routes total 8.4 miles.
The state is asking for a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers for both routes. “They’re doing it for the whole project,” Cole said about the MDOT application.
The bypass would impact Brandy Brook, Gully Brook, an unnamed tributary to Gully Brook, Little River, Tannery Brook, an unnamed tributary to Mosher Brook. The New England District of the Army Corps of Engineers said about 22.9 acres of freshwater wetland and 3,409 feet of streams would be impacted.
MDOT has identified the two-phase project as “Alternative 6d.” The Army Corps of Engineers is seeking public comment to help determine whether this alternative is the least environmentally damaging practicable alternative.
To compensate for unavoidable impacts to waterways and wetlands, MDOT is evaluating a number of prospective mitigation sites with most of them in Gorham and within watersheds near the proposed project. MDOT is proposing these measures seeking to lessen the project’s impact on aquatic resources.
The Army Corps of Engineers is seeking public comment about the MDOT proposal.
The application for the federal permit was filed with the Army Corps of Engineers in compliance with Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, which regulates the discharge or fill of material in United States waters, including wetlands. The Corps public notice can be reviewed online at the Corps website http://www.nae.usace.army.mil. Select Regulatory/Permitting and search by file number or state.
Public comments referencing this permit request (File # NAE-2005-4220) should be forwarded no later than Feb. 17, 2006, to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District, Maine Project Office (ATTN: Jay Clement), 675 Western Ave., #3, Manchester, Maine, 04351.
Additional information is available from Permit Project Manager Jay Clement at 207-623-8367.
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