The research projects slow population growth in the area.
By Scott Taylor
Staff Writer

AUBURN – Jobs, not homes, will be the impetus for better roads, new turnpike interchanges and other transportation systems over the next 22 years, according to a new study.

The Androscoggin Transportation Resource Center is taking public comments on its 20-year plan through Dec. 1, according to Director Don Craig. The plan is the group’s blueprint through 2025.

Population is projected to grow slowly in the Twin Cities over the next 20 years, but employment should increase by 35 percent.

“We’ve already seen changes, just since we started this project, in the investment downtown,” Craig said. “The hospital has added 200 jobs, we have a new hotel and new investment on both sides of the river.

“The major effort has been to revitalize the downtowns and the effect will be to drive traffic here.”

The plan notes that Lewiston, Auburn and Lisbon have lost population in the past 10 years, while the surrounding communities such as Sabattus, Minot, Durham and Poland have grown, altering traffic patterns in the area.

The plan reccomends a handful of transporation projects to make room for that traffic. They include a downtown turnpike interchange, off either Route 136 in Auburn or River Road in Lewiston and a bus and rail station near the Auburn Lewiston Municipal Airport.

The transportation resource center is also recommending relocating Exit 12 on the Maine Turnpike about a quarter-mile south.

The center, an offshoot of the Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments, studies travel and transportation issues in Lewiston, Auburn, Lisbon and Sabattus.

The study is available at both Lewiston and Auburn city buildings, Sabattus and Lisbon town offices, public libraries and at the AVCOG offices at 125 Manley Road. The study is also available on the center’s website, www.atrcmpo.org.

staylor@sunjournal.com

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