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maine offers half a loaf, lets new hampshire file for funding on its own

As we read in this morning's Portsmouth Herald article, New Hampshire filed for TIGER II funding for replacement of the Memorial Bridge. Thanks to all of you who clicked on the link below to send in your support as well. It is a shame that that Maine's support was so lame in the process. Let me clear things up:

New Hampshire submitted the Application on its own

The application for funding was submitted by New Hampshire alone. This is in spite of the fact that the Memorial Bridge is jointly owned by both New Hampshire and Maine. The US DOT made it clear earlier this year that for the application to make it past the first review it must be submitted by both states. Only New Hampshire submitted the application for funding. The application was sent under the signature of NH Commissioner of Transportation George Campbell.

Baldacci offered his "support" to the project

You probably read in the Portsmouth Herald article that Governor Baldacci sent a letter of support for the project. His letter, along with that of NH Governor John Lynch, was filed in the application along with all the other 150 letters of support, giving it perhaps a little more weight than you own letters. It was not a letter of submission. In the first TIGER grant application both Governors signed the application for funding. In this round, only New Hampshire signed on.

Notable by its absence was any support from Maine DOT

It is difficult to see what is not there, but in this case the absence is glaring. There is no input to the proposal at all from the Maine Department of Transportation. While Governor Baldacci's letter emphasizes that there is a need for extraordinary funding for the bridge projects, there is absolutely no effort from the Maine Department of Transportation to secure the "extraordinary funding" being offered by the TIGER II program.

Support from our US Senators and Representatives will be difficult

Senators Collins and Snowe have been especially helpful to us in this process. Senator Collins put Secretary LaHood on record as giving our application for funding special attention. Representative Chellie Pingree has been supportive in both Washington and in her contacts within the State government. But the application will have to get through the first round of review before it gets to the Secretary's desk. Since it is submitted by only one state, and since the support from Maine is tepid at best, we are unlikely to even get the chance to leverage the enthusiasm of our Senators and Representatives. All in all, this has all the earmarks of a wild goose chase.

Our only hope is the next State Government

Sadly I have to classify the current administration in Augusta as hopeless. MDOT was unable to agree on a solution a year ago, and forced the Connections Study. A year has passed, more than $2 million of our tax dollars have been spent, and Maine and New Hampshire still disagree. And the Memorial Bridge has gone from a 10 ton limit to a 3 ton limit. Instead of a decision, we are being told there will be Alternatives presented. That is where the process started. I feel like a character in "Alice through the Looking Glass", but I am not sure which one. To expect that anyone in Augusta will make a decision at this point is delusional.

Stay tuned for my take on the candidates.

Send an email of support for tiger II Funding

The application for TIGER II funding is being submitted on Monday, August 23rd. It will be a joint application from both Maine and New Hampshire. Governor Baldacci has sent a letter of endorsement for inclusion in the application.

What is needed now is an indication of community support. We need letters (emails really) to be sent to NH DOT for inclusion in the application. Please use this link to create an email directly to Bob Landry at NH DOT. Your email will be posted with other parts of the application for this critical funding.

candidates coming to the seacoast to discuss the bridges

The first of the Maine Gubernatorial candidates has already come to Kittery to discuss the bridge issue. Eliot Cutler came specifically to listen to the concerns of the business leaders from the community. While he did not promise to support a specific solution to the problem, he did promise to solve the problem as a priority, if elected.

The Democrat candidate for Governor, Libby Mitchell, who is currently the President of the Maine Senate, will be in Kittery, on Tuesday, August 24th at the Weathervane on Badgers Island at 9AM. The meeting is being promoted as a forum for local residents and business owners to provide Senator Mitchell with our point of view concerning the bridge issues. Everyone is invited.

We have similar invitations out to the Republican Candidate Paul LePage and Shawn Moody (Independent). We will keep you informed when their visit to the Seacoast is planned.

the battle is not over

We are coming to the end of the first phase of the battle to maintain the connections between New Hampshire and Maine. That phase has to do with selecting the way in which we will be connected. That is what the Connections Study is all about.

The next phase, assuming the outcome is favorable, will be about the design and funding of the project to replace the Memorial Bridge.

Connections Study developing final report

The Maine NH Connections Study is in the final phase of the work, with a goal of delivering a final report by the end of August. We originally thought that the study would deliver a single solution for the transportation issues in the Kittery-Portsmouth area. But it is clear that two states that could not agree at the beginning of the process have made no progress in gaining agreement at the end of the process.

The remaining alternatives for solving the connections are the same as presented in late June:

Alternative 4 - Replace the Memorial Bridge and Rehab the Sarah Mildred Long (SML) Bridge
Alternative 6a - Replace the Memorial Bridge and Replace the SML bridge with a low level bridge slightly upstream from the current bridge.
Alternative 9 - Replace the Memorial Bridge and Replace the SML bridge with a hybrid bridge slightly upstream from the current bridge
Alternative 10 - Replace the Memorial Bridge with a Bike/Pedestrian Bridge and Replace the SML Bridge with a hybrid bridge slightly upstream from the current bridge.
Alternative 11 - Remove the Memorial Bridge completely and Replace the SML Bridge with a hybrid bridge slightly upstream from the current bridge.

What is clear is that the final selection of an alternative will fall into the hands of the two Transportation Commissioners and the two Governors. What is not clear is when a decision will be made.

regional planning bodies weigh in on Alternatives

In the mean time, two regional boards who focus on the transportation impacts have considered the alternatives and have identified their preferred alternatives. The two boards are the Kittery Area Comprehensive Transportation Study (KACTS) and the Rockingham County Planning Organization (MPO). Both Boards came to identical conclusions and recommendations. They were:

1. The Boards are in favor of a full replacement for the Memorial Bridge. The Memorial Bridge should be replaced with a facility that allows full access for motor vehicles, bikes and pedestrians. It should provide enhancements that improve the safety of bike traffic on the roadway, reduce conflicts between bikes and pedestrians, and provides more space for each on the bridge. The current bridge is a signature component of the Portsmouth/Kittery waterfront and should be replaced with a structure that is distinctive as well.

2. The Boards are supportive of replacing the Sarah Long Bridge with the “hybrid” bridge option. This design has a lot of potential to improve the flow of vehicle traffic and river traffic over a more traditional design or a rehabilitation of the existing structure.

3. The Boards are not supportive of the transit only alternative. The transit only alternative does not meet the goals of the study as listed in the purpose and need statement as it reduces accessibility and mobility, replaces non-motorized transportation with motorized transportation, and given the current state of funding for transit service in New Hampshire, is not likely to be financially viable in the long term.

4. The Boards are not supportive of the bicycle-pedestrian only replacement of the Memorial Bridge. The replacement of the Memorial Bridge with a bicycle and pedestrian only facility does not meet the purpose and need as it does nothing to improve the connectivity across the river, and creates local economic disruption particularly along US 1 in Kittery. In addition, we are concerned that the cost of operating and maintaining the pedestrian/bike bridge will fall on the City of Portsmouth.

we have made a difference

When we started this campaign, the message from Augusta was that they never hear from Kittery, and have no idea what is important to the people from the Seacoast. That has changed.

We made an initial visit to Augusta to meet with Commissioner Cole, members of the Joint Transportation Committee, and the Governor's Chief of Staff, Jane Lincoln (from Kittery). This started the education process. We have sent individual letters from residents and businesses. We sent a petition with more than 600 signatures. We had a post card campaign that delivered almost 10,000 postcards, and have finally gotten press coverage from Maine Public Radio, the Portland Press Herald, in addition to our local papers.

Maine now knows who we are and what we want. It has gotten to the point that they are now making the effort to say this is not a "popularity contest."

Now we plan for moving forward

The Connections Study and the subsequent negotiations between the two states will produce one of three results: one we favor, one we do not favor, or perhaps no decision at all. To arrive at no decision would have been a waste of time and money. I think it would be especially embarrassing for Maine, since they insisted on conducting the study in the first place. I place a low probability on that outcome. If that is the outcome, then we need to focus on the incoming administration and legislature.

If the result is a recommendation that we favor (as described by the KACTS or Rockingham County Planning Organization) then we need to turn our attention to getting the funding for the project. This will require educating the incoming Maine administration and legislature as to the need for the investment. We are already working to educate the leading Gubernatorial candidates, and will be working to do the same for the legislative candidates.

If the result is a recommendation that we do not favor (e.g., the bike/ped only bridge or the transportation option), then we will need to regroup and determine our next move.

there is another option

A combination of Alternatives 4 and 9 may provide the best hope of the available alternatives, but it needs to be viewed over a longer time period than just the next 5-7 years (remaining life of the SML bridge). If Maine wants the hybrid bridge, does it need to have it right away? Can we rehab the SML bridge and give it another 25 years life? Can we then look again to see if there is a continuing need for the hybrid option?

Gerry Audibert announced at the last Connections Study meeting that it might take 10-25 years to implement the approved bypass of Wiscasset. If MDOT is thinking in those types of time frames, perhaps an alternative that addresses critical connectivity between the municipalities can be done today, and with some strategic repairs, push the decision on replacement off for another 10-25 years. This would have an additional benefit of moving the three bridges here in the seasoast into three different cycles with different end of life dates, enabling Maine to redirect near term funding to other areas of the state.

Hopefully we can move this process forward.

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