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 Maine Bureaucrats Discuss Bypass Options

By:  David Deschesne and Steve Sutter

Fort Fairfield Journal, October 10, 2007, p. 1

CARIBOU - Few of the original members of the “Public Advisory Committee,” formed at the start of the Aroostook County Transportation Study, attended Maine DOT’s October 2, 2007 update at the Caribou Inn and Convention Center. However, many individuals from the general public in central Aroostook attended the 3 pm meeting.

Concerning the Caribou Route 1 to 161 Connector and the easterly Presque Isle Bypass, it was noted that MDOT and the agency’s consultants will continue working with various agencies, principally the federal Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE), toward agreement on the Least Environmentally Damaging Practical Alternatives (LEDPA) for each of these segments of the North to South highway. Wetlands are the foremost issue.

“Some of the factors we consider in ranking transportation benefits are; travel time savings, the number of trucks it takes out of the downtown area and the ability of traffic to maintain a constant speed,” said Lisa Stanley from the Maine DOT.

Both connectors have at least eight separate options up for consideration. In addition to the proposed new road construction, officials are also considering a “No-Action” alternative, where nothing is done; and a “Transportation System Management” option, where currently existing roads are improved for greater traffic flow.

Several farmers and other concerned citizens stood up at the meeting to express their concerns about the MDOT project process and the impact of the Presque Isle Bypass on their businesses and homes. In response, Ray Faucher, MDOT, noted, in part, a great deal of the impetus for the North to South highway plan came to his agency from the organization “Leaders Encouraging Aroostook Development (LEAD)."

Jim Cyr, a concerned citizen asked Faucher from the Maine DOT where the impetus for this project was coming from.

Rather than the “top down” approach of federal mandates being forced on the State agencies; or the “bottom up” where the general public demands action, Faucher described a more “quasi-lateral” move for transportation infrastructure reform. “The Maine DOT was requested to do this study by Leaders Encouraging Aroostook Development,” said Faucher. “We are the mechanism and entity to undertake improvements to the roads and economy of the region. We are trying to identify options to satisfy LEAD.”

“No organization such as LEAD can dictate policy to the Maine DOT,” said Cyr. “They are an unelected body, a private club.”

Acting under the request of LEAD, the Maine DOT has been working with Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. to design the bypasses around the cities of Houlton, Caribou and Presque Isle with little to no support from the general public.

Jim Brown is a farmer in Presque Isle who will be adversely affected by the bypass should they choose the options that dissect his land.

“Two of the options dissect my farm. I have some of that land leased and my tenant said he won’t renew the lease if the land gets divided,” said Brown. “I also have permaculture, such as berries, there that have taken years to develop. My farm has the ‘Cadillac’ of soils, which will be rendered useless. These things haven’t been addressed and I haven’t been contacted. This will be financial ruin for me. I’m going to fight; I’m going to loose, but I’m going to fight.”

Pam Sweetser is also an area farmer who will enjoy the wrath of the DOT with the Presque Isle bypass. “I’m continually astonished in the way this process is being undertaken,” she said. “The premise here is that this road will magically convert this area into some sort of Utopia. I’m not so sure it will. Are any of you bureaucrats considering leaving existing roads and fixing them, or will they all be sacrificed to the god of time?”

“This isn’t Boston or Portland,” said Jim Cyr. “We’re talking about 1/10 of a minute - six seconds - of time savings.”

The process is currently entering Phase II where applications for permits for the proposed corridors are being prepared for the Army Corps of Engineers to review prior to a public comment period later next year.

“In the past, we have asked for several pieces of information, are we going to have that info in a timely manner?” Presque Isle City Manager, Tom Stevens asked Faucher. Faucher responded by saying the proposals should be available “around the time” of the public hearing. “Around the time of and before to are two different things,” Stevens persisted. “I would like to see these final proposals made available at least thirty days in advance of a hearing.”