LEWISTON - After years of talk, the Twin Cities will become home to a new outpatient clinic designed to provide health care for Maine veterans.

The Department of Veterans Affairs announced Thursday that Lewiston-Auburn has been approved for one of 44 such clinics being opened around the country.

The new clinic is expected to begin operating within two years and will provide services to local veterans who currently have to travel to the V.A. hospital in Togus.

To many, the move is overdue.

"I have been working on this for years and today's announcement is very welcome news," said U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud, chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Health. "Making progress on these health care sites is critical to the well-being of our veterans."

In arguing for more services for veterans in recent years, Michaud, a Maine Democrat, has pointed out that about 16 percent of Maine's population - more than 150,000 people - are veterans. That does not include those who are now serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and other nations.

For years, local veterans' groups have been lobbying to get a clinic in Lewiston. In 2006, when a bill for new clinics went to Congress, the Lewiston post of the Franco-American Veterans estimated there were at least 11,000 veterans in the Lewiston-Auburn area.

Leaders from all 14 Lewiston-Auburn veterans' groups signed their names to a petition and collected more than 1,000 other signatures arguing the need for local services. The petitions and letters of support were presented to the Veterans Administration at Togus in 2005.

Those local veterans have argued that as they age it is more difficult for them to travel to Togus. With the new clinic open, many will be spared the long trip and can seek medical services close to home.

"This clinic will provide a wide range of quality-care services to a large population of veterans living in the area," said Ryan S. Lilly, associate director of the veterans hospital in Togus.

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the location of the new clinic, as well as details of staffing and services it will offer, will be determined over the next few months.

Across the country, the new clinics will increase the Department of Veterans Affairs network of independent and community-based clinics to 782, an increase of more than 100 in five years.

Michaud praised the announcement in a statement released Thursday afternoon.

"We have a large population of veterans in Maine spread throughout the state, and it is crucial that they have access to quality health care," Michaud said.