The Westbrook City Council voted unanimously Monday to support the proposed connector road between Gorham and the Maine Mall.
The vote came a week after the council postponed its decision pending a review of minor revisions to the plan from the town of Scarborough and Councilor Mike Shaughnessy.
The estimated $220 million 6-mile toll road connector is aimed at easing heavy commuter traffic on state and local roads. It would link the Bernard P. Rines Bypass in Gorham with the turnpike’s interchange at Exit 45 in South Portland.
Aside from a new bridge over Brackett Road and the Stroudwater River near Saco Street and the Gorham and Scarborough town lines, the project would have little notable impact on Westbrook other than to improve traffic, City Administrator Jerre Bryant said previously. There will be significant construction in Scarborough and Gorham.
Shaughnessy’s revisions clarified protections for waterways and wetlands, and explicitly required public engagement, which the Maine Turnpike Authority had already planned.
“I feel a lot of my concerns were alleviated by (the changes),” Shaughnessy said Monday. “I thought there were some areas they could be more explicit, some around community engagement and the environment.”
The connector is expected to ease traffic congestion on Saco and Main streets and Routes 22 and 25, which are heavy commuter routes, Peter Mills, executive director of the Turnpike Authority, said at the meeting.
The connector’s route will be finalized in January.
The road is also projected to pay for itself, Mills said.
“The toll on the road we believe will be sufficient to pay for the road,” Mills said previously. “We believe that to be the case, but there are few solid numbers to give you until the project goes to bid in 2025 or 2026. We don’t have a decision on concrete numbers.”
The Turnpike Authority is seeking votes of support for the project from Westbrook, Gorham, South Portland and Scarborough. Westbrook is the first community to look at, and approve the changes.
The town of Scarborough recently requested minor changes in the plan. It is seeking assurances that the Turnpike Authority would obtain property needed for the project as amicably as possible and that it will minimize impacts to wetlands, essential habitat and the Red Brook watershed in that town. It also wants the Turnpike Authority to create an advisory committee to assist with the location, design and development of the connector. The committee would advise on commuter parking, sustainability and other issues.
The Turnpike Authority plans to begin a series of public meetings on the project this month. At that time, the proposed route will be finalized and more specific information will be available. Mills assured the council that the hearing process will be extensive and include all property abutters.
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