Homeowners in Gorham Connector’s path brace for impact

More than 20 years after the Maine Turnpike Authority began talking about building the 5-mile, four-lane toll highway, homeowners who would be displaced by the project still find their lives hang in the balance.

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Arthur and Courtney Theriault bought their dream home in 2021 – an updated split-level ranch in Scarborough with a three-car garage, custom woodwork and gorgeous hillside views.

It would be the place they raised their three daughters – now ages 3, 6 and 8 – nestled on a 2-acre wooded lot with deer in the driveway and toys strewn amid fruit trees in the backyard.

It quickly proved to be a country-quiet yet convenient homestead for the busy couple, right around the corner from the Target shopping plaza, Maine Mall, Interstate 295 and the Maine Turnpike. He’s an engineer who works minutes away at Idexx in Westbrook; she’s a registered nurse at Maine Medical Center in Portland.

Then last spring the Maine Turnpike Authority sent the Theriaults a letter. The right-of-way team wanted to show them the agency’s plans to build an approach to the controversial Gorham Connector right through their front yard on Running Hill Road.

Arthur Theriault walks through the backyard at his home off Running Hill Road in Scarborough. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

Arthur Theriault met with the team in late June – nearly six months after the MTA finally announced its preferred route for the 5-mile, four-lane toll highway. It would stretch from the recently rebuilt Turnpike Exit 45 in South Portland, through Scarborough and Westbrook, to the Gorham Bypass at Route 114 in Gorham, just south of the town center.

The meeting took place in the board room of the authority’s headquarters near Turnpike Exit 46, he said. The team included Ben Bolduc, land surveyor; Scott Lachance, deputy director of fare collection; and Stephen Tartre, director of engineering.

They presented maps and plans that showed the proposed connector and the Running Hill Road interchange would be close to Theriault’s property and would disrupt the neighborhood with blasting, detours and heavy equipment for years to come, he said.

They didn’t talk price or attempt to negotiate a sale, but they made it clear that the Theriaults wouldn’t want to live there once construction got underway. And they shared everything the authority knew about the property, including the couple’s mortgage company. It was unnerving.

“It was very unprofessional,” said Theriault, 38. “They presented the plans almost in a tactical way. They said, ‘Hey, we’re going to do this and it’s going to be really bad for your family.’ ”

Theriault was stunned. The statement stuck with him, though he doesn’t recall exactly who said it. The right-of-way team acknowledges that the conversation was intense.

“Our staff does not remember using those words, though we have no doubt that Mr. Theriault believed the impacts described, specifically the construction impacts, would be very negative,” said MTA spokesperson Erin Courtney.

The team did talk in a straightforward way about anticipated project timelines and the potential for blasting, noise, dust and detours, Courtney said.

Arthur Theriault, his wife, Courtney Theriault, and their three daughters, Ellie, 6, second from right right, Lydia, 8, second from left, and Margaret, 3, at their home in Scarborough. The family’s property lies in the path of the proposed Gorham Connector. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

Four months later, the status of the proposed connector has only grown more confusing and frustrating for the Theriaults and other homeowners in its path.

The more than $331 million project is in limbo after Scarborough town councilors this month withdrew support initially granted by their predecessors in 2007 and renewed in 2022. Whether Westbrook, Gorham and South Portland will follow suit remains to be seen.

While the authority and others say the highway spur is needed to tame commuter traffic congestion along routes 114 and 22, opponents say it will be too big, costly and harmful to the environment, including historic Smiling Hill Farm in Westbrook. Opponents also say the traffic problems aren’t as bad as they were a few years ago.

Now, the MTA is scrambling to figure out how to save or back out of a project it has been planning for more than 20 years. But while turnpike officials have said recently that the project isn’t a done deal, that’s not the impression they have left with some of the property owners who would be directly affected.

Faced with mounting public opposition, the authority has slowed the project’s rollout and its pursuit of necessary state and federal environmental permits. It also has promised to increase public transparency and consideration of alternative solutions to morning and evening traffic congestion west of Portland.

Erin Courtney, spokesperson, at the Maine Turnpike Authority headquarters. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

“We’re in discussions with our partners about next steps,” said Courtney, referring to the Maine Department of Transportation and HNTB, the project’s consulting engineers.

TRAFFIC COUNTS AND ROUNDABOUTS

Next steps likely will include updated traffic counts to help answer concerns about whether the connector is needed, Courtney said. Recent traffic counts in the connector corridor show some reduction since the pandemic.

The partners also will be considering spot improvements such as roundabouts along routes 22 and 114 that might address commuter congestion at a much lower cost and environmental impact. Spot improvements would be the responsibility of the state transportation department, she said.

“The MTA’s goal has always been to provide honest assessments while sharing information constructively and empathetically, without causing undue stress,” Courtney said.

At this point, however, it’s not even clear that the preferred connector route announced in February would be the intended path going forward.

“We are still carefully considering the full scope of community input, and we are working to adjust the alignment to minimize impacts based on the priorities residents have shared,” she said.

If the connector were built as proposed, the authority would spend $125 million in cash reserves and finance the rest of the project at 5% for 30 years, according to a year-old revenue study.

A car drives down Running Hill Road in Scarborough in October. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

The authority would charge $1.50 to $2 to drive on the connector, which would generate $65 million to $172 million in revenue over 30 years. Tolls would increase every 10 years.

But while the authority and its partners review their options, the Theriaults and other property owners have been left hanging.

“The public is still very much in the gray area about what’s happening,” Theriault said. “No decision has been made. If you’ve been talking about it for more than 20 years, why haven’t you got it done?”

STILL BUYING LAND

Since revealing the connector route in February, the authority has spent an additional $1.5 million on land needed to build the highway spur. The investment so far is about $6 million for 15 properties totaling 340 acres, Courtney said. That’s 30% of about 50 parcels the authority would need to complete the project.

“Our goal has been primarily to preserve a potential corridor in this region that is not only heavily developed but contains plentiful wetlands and other areas of ecological concern,” said Jonathan Arey, the MTA’s staff attorney.

So far, Arey said, all land purchased for the connector project has been from sellers who were willing or faced other development pressures. And the authority is looking to buy more.

“While the project is currently on hold pending further studies and evaluations, we continue to monitor land within the study area and may discuss land options with willing sellers to maintain flexibility in case the project progresses,” Arey said.

Arey refused a request from the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram under Maine’s Freedom of Access Act for a complete list of properties in the connector’s path. The agency cited a clause that says government agencies can withhold information pertaining to real estate negotiations.

The authority did provide an aerial photo map with the acquired lots outlined in red, but it refused to identify their addresses or tax map locations.

Based on a review of assessor’s records in Scarborough, Westbrook and Gorham, properties that the authority has acquired for the project include:

• 30 acres at 122 Running Hill Road, Scarborough, acquired in 2020, previously owned by Louis Mack Co., sale price $740,000;

• 9 acres off Running Hill Road, Scarborough, acquired in 2021, previous owner and sale price not listed;

• 19 acres off Running Hill Road, Scarborough, acquired in 2021, previous owner not listed; sale price $425,000;

• 45 acres off South Street, Gorham, acquired in 2020, previously owned by Dana Lampron LLC and Susan Deschaines LLC, no sale price listed;

• 1 acre off Brackett Road, Gorham, acquired in 2023, previously owned by Gorham Country Club Inc., no sale price listed.

Other landowners in the connector’s path who have yet to sell and were interviewed by the Press Herald said turnpike officials had contacted them about the project but didn’t discuss price or commence negotiations.

A LONG WAIT

On the Gorham end of the connector route, Dana Libby wishes the authority would finally make an offer on his South Street property – 17 years after he says former Executive Director Peter Mills first expressed interest. A retired diesel mechanic, Libby and his wife, Linda, live near the roundabout that connects routes 114 and 112.

Libby said Mills, who retired in September, had visited him several times since the roundabout was completed in 2007. Each time he told Libby that the connector would be built in the next few years and his 1.7-acre property would be needed for the project.

In the meantime, Libby and his wife have delayed installing new windows and doors in their two-bedroom, cape-style house, thinking it soon would be plowed under. Now, the couple are living on fixed incomes and can’t afford to make needed improvements.

“I haven’t been able to do anything because they keep putting it off,” said Libby, 69. “Peter Mills came over and showed me blueprints. There was no doubt in my mind that it was going to happen. I think I deserve some compensation for them dinking me around.”

Despite his agitation over the delayed connector project, Libby said he agrees with opponents who believe commuter traffic backups on routes 22 and 114 could be eradicated by installing roundabouts at key intersections. He has seen how the roundabout next to his house has slowed speeders while keeping traffic flowing smoothly on routes 114 and 112.

“It was a 200% improvement,” Libby said of the Gorham roundabout. “But if they do go through with the connector, they better show up with their big checkbook, because I want more than my property is worth.”

POWER OF EMINENT DOMAIN

Libby’s approach may have little impact in negotiations with turnpike officials. Under Maine law, the authority has the power to buy, sell, lease and take land by eminent domain for various purposes.

The law stipulates that the authority may acquire property by eminent domain “whenever a reasonable price cannot be agreed upon…or whenever the owner is legally incapacitated or is absent or is unable to convey valid title or is unknown.”

The authority’s website explains that its property-acquisition goals are “to respect all landowners whom we deal with, to follow all applicable laws and regulations, and to acquire property through a negotiated purchase rather than the use of the power of eminent domain.”

Projects will be designed “to minimize overall property impacts through adjustments that are deemed practicable;” and property needs will be determined through professional research and data collection.

“Property owners will be provided with the draft project schedule and (description), and will be kept informed of progress and important issues throughout the duration of the project,” according to the authority’s website.

Harry White walks into his home off Running Hill Road in Scarborough. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

The authority’s right-of-way agents will meet with property owners to tell them about the project in general, any of their property that may be required and any other impacts that the project might have on their property.

At some point, the MTA will present an offer of fair market value as determined by a certified Maine appraiser. However, for small or temporary acquisitions, the authority may skip an initial appraisal for a preliminary offer.

The authority “always attempts to acquire property by negotiation initially,” according to its website. Landowners who feel the authority’s offer is unfair are encouraged to make a counter offer, which usually is presented by a certified Maine appraiser.

FAIR MARKET VALUE

There’s a lot of leeway in the authority’s definition of fair market value, “which is the most probable price which a property should bring in a competitive and open market under all conditions requisite to a fair sale, the buyer and seller each acting prudently and knowledgeably and assuming the price is not affected by undue stimulus.”

The authority explains further that “if negotiations cannot produce a mutually agreeable compensation for the property acquired, MTA will acquire the necessary land by condemnation, or eminent domain.”

Turnpike officials continue to determine the financial feasibility (design, cost, potential toll pricing) of the connector proposal and evaluate its impacts on the environment and abutters, the website states.

“It is the mission of the turnpike to provide the highest quality of construction, at a reasonable cost, with the least impact to adjacent properties and our patrons,” the website states.

Harry and Margaret White at their home off Running Hill Road in Scarborough. The Whites have lived in an old farmhouse on the 13-acre property for over 40 years. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

Harry White is one homeowner in the connector’s path who seems to have faith in the authority’s intent. He and his wife, Margaret, have lived on Running Hill Road for over 40 years.

Turnpike officials have expressed interest in about 1 acre of their 13-acre property – a strip along the road in front of their late 1800s farmhouse and a triangle next to their post-and-beam barn – but they have yet to make an offer, White said.

The whole property has been for sale for about 20 years and has been under a three-year purchase agreement for several months, he said. White wouldn’t say who the potential buyer is, only that it’s not the MTA.

A retired manufacturing manager, White said he had a trusting relationship with Peter Mills and enjoyed his regular visits. He doesn’t trust the organized connector opponents, who have criticized Mills and dispute the need for the project.

“There’s a lot of misinformation out there,” said White, 82. “Scarborough was whipped into voting against it.”

Harry White says he would like to see the connector issue settled soon. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

White said emphatically that he believes the connector will have little impact on him and his wife, but he’d like to have the whole matter settled soon.

“We’ve been talking about it for more than 10 years,” he said.

NOT-SO-FOREVER HOME

The Theriaults haven’t been waiting as long to learn whether their lives will be upended by the connector project, but the potential disruption has been no less disturbing.

When they bought their house on Running Hill Road in 2021, they had no idea the connector was being planned, let alone likely to force them to move.

“This is my wife’s forever home,” Arthur Theriault said.

Theriault said he’s not a “NIMBY” – a person who says “not in my backyard” – but he needs to know the connecter actually is the best solution for the problem it’s meant to solve and absolutely needed for the greater good.

Lydia Theriault, 8, plays with a soccer ball. The Theriault property lies in the path of the proposed Gorham Connector. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

He hasn’t seen data that proves the connector is necessary to address a problem that exists for a few hours each day during rush hour commutes, he said. He believes public officials must seriously consider alternative solutions that are less costly overall.

“I’m a big data guy,” he said. “Show me how spending all that money and disrupting so many lives makes sense to save people 4 minutes on their morning commute.”

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