PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 16, 2024
Traffic counts are down where the Maine Turnpike Authority plans to build the Gorham Connector, fueling calls for the agency to back off the increasingly controversial highway project that’s meant to address commuter congestion west of Portland. The authority also released a 2023 revenue study last week that estimates the full cost of the connector will be at least $331 million. Project engineers HNTB said at a community meeting in March that the cost would be “something north of $200 million,” a 5-year-old estimate that turnpike officials have stated repeatedly and said hadn’t been updated.