A bill to authorize converting a 26-mile former rail line that passes through New Gloucester to an interim bicycle and pedestrian trail is moving forward in the Legislature. A hearing on the Portland-to-Auburn trail bill, LD 511, will be held on March 4 at 1 p.m. before the Transportation Committee; online testimony may be submitted now.
LD 511, “Resolve, to Direct the Department of Transportation to Implement the Recommendations of the Portland to Auburn Rail Use Advisory Council,” would authorize the MDOT, subject to available funding and other conditions, to remove rails and build an interim paved or gravel recreational trail on the former St. Lawrence and Atlantic line.
The state-owned rail corridor, known as the Berlin Subdivision, has been inactive since freight service ceased in 2015. Some seven miles run through New Gloucester, with crossings on Route 231 near Woodman Road and on Cobbs Bridge Road at the Royal River. The full 26-mile route runs from the Back Cove area of Portland to Danville Junction in Auburn.
Read the bill at this link.
Although the in-person hearing in Augusta on LD 511 is not until March 4, written testimony may be submitted online now.
To submit testimony, click here and then
- Select the hearing:
- Select “Public Hearing”
- Choose “Transportation” committee
- Select March 4, 2025
- Select “LD 511”
- Enter testimony, name, residence
- Submit Check “I’m not a robot” and click “Submit / Register”)
A related bill, LD 30, would authorize the Portland to Yarmouth portion of the proposed route. It, too, is scheduled for public hearing on March 4 at 1 p.m at the Transportation Committee. Trail advocates urge trail supporters to encourage the committee to amend LD 30 to extend the route to Auburn.
The Portland to Auburn interim trail is part of a larger vision for a 72-mile loop trail connecting Portland, Lewiston-Auburn, Freeport and Brunswick. Learn more about the proposed trail and its backstory, the findings and recommendations of the state-created Rail Use Advisory Council and more at this link.
To find detailed maps, FAQs and more, visit the website of the project’s lead advocate, the Casco Bay Trail Alliance. — Joanne Cole
