Eastern Trail construction under way near busy Saco intersection - Sept. 22, 2011
By David Harry
Staff Writer
Mike Beaulieu took a dip of Red Man chewing tobacco as he waited for the skidder to come down the trail last Thursday.
He was standing below the eastbound entrance ramp from Route 1 to I-195 in Saco, where crews from the Biddeford-based logging company he started, now owned by his son Jason Beaulieu, would cut through a patch of woods to Moody Lane to extend the Eastern Trail.
The work is a small part of a $2.4 million, 4.3-mile project to link portions of trail through Saco from the southern end of the Thornton Academy campus to Milliken Mills Road in Old Orchard Beach, said Saco City Planner Bob Hamblen.
Capping the project is a prefabricated overpass that spans Route 1 just north of the highway interchange. The prefabricated steel truss structure is expected to be ready by Nov. 15, Hamblen said.
“Shaw Brothers have been working well ahead of deadline,” Hamblen said.
The Gorham-based contractors received the bid for the work, funded by a $1.9 million Maine Department of Transportation grant and a $500,000 bond approved by Saco voters in 2007.
Hamblen is vice president and treasurer of the Eastern Trail Alliance, which oversees management of the trail that runs from Bug Light Park in South Portland to Kittery.
The trail is part of the larger East Coast Greenway that extends from Maine to Florida.
The bridge over Route 1 is the second trail overpass constructed this year. One spans the Maine Turnpike in Kennebunk and opened at the end of last month.
Hamblen said portions of the trail extension in the city are unofficially open for use. Walkers and bicyclists can use freshly cleared sections that run behind the Hannaford Bros. store on Route 1 and a stretch from Moody Lane to the ridge above Route 1.
Mike Beaulieu said he and his son helped clear the trail south of the highway interchange. He said it was relatively easy work as the path runs along the roadbed of the former Eastern Railroad.
The path emerges from the wooded area to run alongside the entrance and exit ramps off I-195. It’s marked by a rail fence and features a gravel and soil surface. The trail continues under the highway and turns away from Route 1 to run parallel to the entrance ramp.
Hamblen estimated the bridge that used to carry the railroad over Route 1 was torn down at least 60 years ago. Service on the Eastern Railroad ended in the waning days of World War II, according to the alliance web site.
The gaps in the trail are closing, but natural impediments remain, Hamblen said. Alliance officials are uncertain how the trail will officially cross the Saco River because there is no easement to use the old railroad bridge.
“A new bridge would certainly cost seven figures and money is tight,” Hamblen said.
Work to extend the trail from South Portland to athe Scarborough town line is budgeted in the current South Portland capital improvements plan, but Scarborough Town Planner Dan Bacon said linking the trail on the Scarborough side could be a few years from fruition.
The trail runs through Old Orchard Beach and most of Scarborough, including Scarborough Marsh.
After winding along a path east and south of Route 1, the trail reaches another watery impediment – the Nonesuch River.
Bacon said Scarborough officials received a $150,000 MDOT grant for engineering studies on crossing the river and how the trail should be routed to South Portland.
Studies are preliminary, with several options to consider, but the using the former Eastern Railroad roadbed is not feasible. Bacon said officials would like to avoid using portions of Pleasant Hill Road to share the trail because of traffic safety questions for walkers and bicyclists.
Avoiding Pleasant Hill Road could mean building a new bridge to cross the Pan Am railroad lines also used by the Amtrak Downeaster, Bacon said.
Cost estimates for the bridge that would span the Nonesuch River are outdated and Bacon said engineering studies could take 18 months.
With better estimates in hand, Bacon said Scarborough officials would seek funding grants and construction could possibly start in two years.
Staff Writer
Mike Beaulieu took a dip of Red Man chewing tobacco as he waited for the skidder to come down the trail last Thursday.
He was standing below the eastbound entrance ramp from Route 1 to I-195 in Saco, where crews from the Biddeford-based logging company he started, now owned by his son Jason Beaulieu, would cut through a patch of woods to Moody Lane to extend the Eastern Trail.
The work is a small part of a $2.4 million, 4.3-mile project to link portions of trail through Saco from the southern end of the Thornton Academy campus to Milliken Mills Road in Old Orchard Beach, said Saco City Planner Bob Hamblen.
Capping the project is a prefabricated overpass that spans Route 1 just north of the highway interchange. The prefabricated steel truss structure is expected to be ready by Nov. 15, Hamblen said.
“Shaw Brothers have been working well ahead of deadline,” Hamblen said.
The Gorham-based contractors received the bid for the work, funded by a $1.9 million Maine Department of Transportation grant and a $500,000 bond approved by Saco voters in 2007.
Hamblen is vice president and treasurer of the Eastern Trail Alliance, which oversees management of the trail that runs from Bug Light Park in South Portland to Kittery.
The trail is part of the larger East Coast Greenway that extends from Maine to Florida.
The bridge over Route 1 is the second trail overpass constructed this year. One spans the Maine Turnpike in Kennebunk and opened at the end of last month.
Hamblen said portions of the trail extension in the city are unofficially open for use. Walkers and bicyclists can use freshly cleared sections that run behind the Hannaford Bros. store on Route 1 and a stretch from Moody Lane to the ridge above Route 1.
Mike Beaulieu said he and his son helped clear the trail south of the highway interchange. He said it was relatively easy work as the path runs along the roadbed of the former Eastern Railroad.
The path emerges from the wooded area to run alongside the entrance and exit ramps off I-195. It’s marked by a rail fence and features a gravel and soil surface. The trail continues under the highway and turns away from Route 1 to run parallel to the entrance ramp.
Hamblen estimated the bridge that used to carry the railroad over Route 1 was torn down at least 60 years ago. Service on the Eastern Railroad ended in the waning days of World War II, according to the alliance web site.
The gaps in the trail are closing, but natural impediments remain, Hamblen said. Alliance officials are uncertain how the trail will officially cross the Saco River because there is no easement to use the old railroad bridge.
“A new bridge would certainly cost seven figures and money is tight,” Hamblen said.
Work to extend the trail from South Portland to athe Scarborough town line is budgeted in the current South Portland capital improvements plan, but Scarborough Town Planner Dan Bacon said linking the trail on the Scarborough side could be a few years from fruition.
The trail runs through Old Orchard Beach and most of Scarborough, including Scarborough Marsh.
After winding along a path east and south of Route 1, the trail reaches another watery impediment – the Nonesuch River.
Bacon said Scarborough officials received a $150,000 MDOT grant for engineering studies on crossing the river and how the trail should be routed to South Portland.
Studies are preliminary, with several options to consider, but the using the former Eastern Railroad roadbed is not feasible. Bacon said officials would like to avoid using portions of Pleasant Hill Road to share the trail because of traffic safety questions for walkers and bicyclists.
Avoiding Pleasant Hill Road could mean building a new bridge to cross the Pan Am railroad lines also used by the Amtrak Downeaster, Bacon said.
Cost estimates for the bridge that would span the Nonesuch River are outdated and Bacon said engineering studies could take 18 months.
With better estimates in hand, Bacon said Scarborough officials would seek funding grants and construction could possibly start in two years.
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