The Situation Going Into the Friday Stakeholders’ Meeting

Friday, July 16, 2010; 11:44 a.m. — We received the following e-mail from Ben Porter on Tuesday, July 13, 2010 8:20 PM.

As we noted in our first Bridge News post, things changed rather quickly. We thought it would be useful to provide this as-is to set the state fur subsequent events.

Also, the Drift Gallery Bridge Exhibition (see below) is still on.

[Salutation]

This Friday appears to be a significant day with the possibility of some key decisions regarding the fate of the Memorial and Sarah Mildred Long Bridges. And in addition, there will be an opportunity to gather and share our thoughts about what happens in the morning.

Connections Study

From 10AM till 12:30, at the Kittery Trading Post, the Maine NH Connections Study will present the latest update on the process they have been going through for the past year or more. This meeting is not open to the general public. What we are being told is that there will be three alternatives presented. Deb McDermott’s article in the Portsmouth Herald articlePH100711 outlined the range of options that are under discussion.

The range of what might happen in the meeting is pretty broad. What I expect is that one of the options presented will appear favorable to us in the local community, and that one will be anathema. It is hard to tell what the other option will be. What is becoming clear is that this will not be the end of the process, but rather the transition from the analysis phase to the decision making phase.

The analysis phase has been primarily based on engineering analysis. There has been some economic analysis done, but the primary focus has been on the engineering, and other impacts of the bridge options. If anything, this has been the rational part of the process.

The decision making phase moves much more into the political part of the process. The Maine and NH DOT’s will send the decisions up to the Governors’ offices for final negotiations. This is where the real decisions will be made, and they will be partially financial, and mostly political. And this part of the process will require even more public input.

Drift Gallery Bridge Exhibition

Ali Goodwin’s Drift Gallery on Shapleigh Street in Kittery is having a grand opening of its exhibition of artwork featuring the Memorial Bridge. This event will be held at the gallery at 5PM, and will be an opportunity for us to share the results of the meeting earlier in the day. This gallery opening is for the general public, and represents yet another facet of the Memorial Bridge, its role in the culture of the region.

We have focused on the impact on the economy, life style, history, and now on the arts community in the Seacoast. All this about a piece of early 20th century industrial equipment. But it is the link that has made the Seacoast what it is.

I hope to see you on Friday, and I hope to be able to share good news.

Ben Porter
Save Our Bridges!
www.SeacoastBridges.com
A Coalition of Seacoast Local, Portsmouth Historical Soc., Seacoast for Change Grassroots Network,Kittery Business Association, York County Chamber of Commerce, KEYS, Am. Legion Booma Post, and others

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