PORTLAND (AP) – Two years after the widening of the southern end of the Maine Turnpike was completed, officials are setting the stage to widen an adjoining nine-mile stretch through the Portland area from four lanes to six lanes.

The Maine Turnpike Authority plans to ask the new Legislature next month to change the law to allow the widening of the section from Exit 44 (Interstate 295) to Exit 53 (Portland North) and to raise the agency’s bonding capacity to pay for the work, Paul Violette, executive director, said Wednesday.

The new lanes would accommodate additional traffic created in part by construction of the new Jetport and Rand Road exits within the Portland corridor.

If the Legislature approves the changes sought by the turnpike authority, officials will begin a two-year study of the proposed widening that would also consider environmental impacts and alternatives to new construction, such as extension of passenger rail service to Brunswick.

An earlier study by the Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation Committee concluded that the Maine Turnpike would be a more appropriate candidate for widening than Interstate 295, which passes through a more congested section of Portland and includes Tukey’s Bridge, which would be difficult to widen.

The turnpike authority staff’s $700 million capital program through 2020 includes $75 million for modernization of the nine-mile Portland stretch and another $75 million for the widening, Violette said.

The Legislature will be asked to increase the turnpike authority’s bonding capacity by $125 million, bringing it to $485 million, he said.

The widening of the southern end of the toll road became a focus of controversy as voters rejected the project in a 1991 referendum, opting instead to explore other ways to reduce or manage traffic.

Amid heightened traffic congestion, voters reconsidered six years later and approved the plan to widen the 30 miles from York to Scarborough. The work was completed in five years at a cost of $135 million.

The widening would be financed by an unspecified toll increase slated to take effect in 2010. The turnpike last raised tolls by 22 percent in 2005 and officials estimate that the new increase would be in the 15 to 20 percent range.

The latest widening project may prove less controversial than its predecessor. The Natural Resources Council of Maine, which spearheaded the opposition 15 years ago, is unlikely at this point to oppose the new expansion plan because it would take place in an urban corridor, said spokeswoman Judy Berk.

AP-ES-12-06-06 1617EST

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