By Rachel H. Goldman
Staff Writer @ kennebunkpost.com
Bikers
and pedestrians this Labor Day weekend avoided holiday traffic to enjoy
the Eastern Trail’s new pedestrian bridge that spans the Maine Turnpike
in Kennebunk.
The
footbridge, which opened Aug. 31, connects 6.2 miles of off-road
Eastern Trail between Southern Maine Medical Center in Biddeford and
Route 35 in Kennebunk.
“We’re
very happy to have a new way to connect the communities we serve,” said
Scott Tompkins, Maine Turnpike Authority spokesman.
Maine
Turnpike Authority funded the $1.3 million pedestrian bridge. Maine
Department of Transportation allocated $2.5 million of federal funding
dedicated for bicycle and pedestrian projects to design and construct
the trail on either side.
Eastern
Trail, the southern Maine section of East Coast Greenway – a large
network of trail that connects Maine to Florida – has more than 80 miles
of off-road and on-road trail that connects South Portland’s Bug Light
Park to Kittery’s Piscataqua River. The trail follows the historic
Eastern Railroad.
Former
Eastern Trail Alliance President John Andrews in 1999 incorporated the
organization in hopes of building a 55-mile off-road trail from Kittery
to Casco Bay.
The
organization’s vision was – and remains – to create an off-road trail
free from noise and air pollution to be enjoyed by Maine families and
visitors of all skill levels.
The
trail’s sections are contiguous for 5.7 miles in South Portland along
the Greenbelt Walkway, 4.5 miles from Scarborough to Old Orchard Beach
and 6.2 miles from Biddeford to Kennebunk.
The
footbridge, which passes over mile 26.3 of the Maine Turnpike in
Kennebunk, is the first in a series of three projects to connect
off-road portions of the Eastern Trail in Cumberland and York counties.
Freeport-based
contractors CPM Constructors in April began construction of the bridge.
Maine Turnpike Authority and Maine Department of Transportation worked
with Eastern Trail Alliance, Eastern Trail Management Division, East
Coast Greenway Alliance, Biddeford, Kennebunk and Arundel to complete
the project.
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