State/High 2-way project on City Council agenda, but no plans are available

[Christian MilNeil]

Next week's City Council meeting agenda includes an "Agreement Between the Maine Department of Transportation and Portland RE: Improvements to State Street, High Street, and
Forest Avenue at Fourteen Intersections" that will put the city on the hook for $5.1 million:
https://portlandme.portal.civicclerk.com/event/9573/files/report/4705

According to the memo (emphaseis added), "This agreement must be approved by City Council and signed by the City Manager to allow engineering to be completed and maintain delivery dates for the two-way reversion project. DOT has already begun design; the agreement must be signed prior to completing design on the two-way components. Delay could result in the project being shifted to a later DOT Work Plan."

That means that there's got to be a conceptual design out there somewhere, but it's nowhere to be found in the Council's packet. 

This has come up as an issue with other MaineDOT projects – they tell the Council that they need to sign on the dotted line NOW or else risk losing the funding, but the public and the Council don't know important details about what MaineDOT is planning.

I've c'ed Jeremiah and Bruce in case they can share some useful details– I'm hoping they're in the loop. But more generally, we should really ask the City Council to demand more details in these projects, and more accountability from MaineDOT so that we know they're improving safety instead of just rebuilding the dangerous status quo. 

Christian MilNeil
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[Christian MilNeil]

Thanks Jeremiah. I'm familiar with the concept plans from last year, but which one is the preferred alternative moving forward? The presence of a MOU and a specific $5.1 million construction estimate seems to indicate that there's a preferred concept that's moving to final design. 

Christian MilNeil
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On Fri, Aug 21, 2026 at 12:27 PM Jeremiah Bartlett <jbar...@portlandmaine.gov> wrote:

Hi Christian,

Thanks for reaching out about this project.

You can find presentation materials, including the concept plans, on our project website:

https://engage.zencity.io/portland/en-US/projects/state-high-street-two-way-project

The City has hosted several public meetings on this effort, including presentations to the Sustainability & Transportation Committee and a previous endorsement by the City Council.

The current goal is to secure the remaining $100,000 to finalize the project design, which incorporates city-recommended components like the two-way reversion. This agreement is a significant step forward because it represents a formal endorsement of the two-way reversion by MaineDOT. Furthermore, the project consultant has committed to an accelerated work schedule to move the project forward quickly once the agreement is signed.

While these additional components require a financial commitment from the City, both the S&T Committee and the City Council have been fully briefed on the details. We are also actively working to reduce the City's financial exposure and have requested that PACTS/GPCOG formally recommend to MaineDOT that all components of the work be included in its upcoming 2027-2029 Work Plan.

Have a great weekend,
Jeremiah

Jeremiah J. Bartlett, PE, PTOE

Transportation Systems Engineer

Department of Public Works

212 Canco Road, Suite B

Portland, Maine 04103

jbar...@portlandmaine.gov

(207) 874-8891

He/Him/His

Notice: Under Maine law, documents - including e-mails - in the possession of public officials or city employees about government business may be classified as public records. There are very few exceptions. As a result, please be advised that what is written in an e-mail could be released to the public and/or the media if requested.

[Winston Lumpkins]

Hi Jeremiah, PBPAC, etc

I presume that this funding passed at the council meeting on the 9th; trying to dredge up council minutes is beyond me at this moment. 

I'm not sure what the website looks like when Christian Looked at it, however, I managed to realize that under the Survey results report it mentions that based on the survey results and the January 14th S&T meeting that an alignment has been chosen, available in the sidebar as PDFS.  Alternative 1 is the only plan still up Congress to York, and then Alternative 4 Park to Congress.  It might be more clear if the S&T committee meeting had its own heading...  I had trouble realizing the importance of that paragraph in the survey results section.  

And then Alt 1 for High Street

For PBPAC, I'm not sure we need to have this on our agenda for tonight- there are certainly one or 2 questions I have, such as how the inbound bike lane will end in one longfellow square...  

Will there be any further opportunities for review of the final design?  

Thanks, 

~Winston

Winston Lumpkins IV (he/him/his)

Past Chair, Portland Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee
https://www.portlandbikeped.org/

winston....@gmail.com

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[Winston Lumpkins]

Hi Jeremiah, 

Yes, that does help a great deal!  

I am optimistic based on the last meeting and look forward to seeing the preliminary design phase; this a big project and it's great to see it having such a robust public input- it's key we get this right!  

Thanks!  

~Winston

Winston Lumpkins IV (he/him/his)

Past Chair, Portland Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee
https://www.portlandbikeped.org/

winston....@gmail.com

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On Mon, Sep 14, 2026 at 11:16 AM Jeremiah Bartlett <jbar...@portlandmaine.gov> wrote:

Hi Winston,

Yes - to answer your question, absolutely.  MaineDOT and the City are pushing the consultant to reach a design point where another public meeting can occur, likely right after the holidays.  The MSA process is a bit of a cat-and-mouse game, but now that the MSA has passed its second reading, all parties agreed in today's project discussion to move as quickly as possible to get more detailed plans back to the public.  This will be the preliminary design phase, allowing adjustments before the final layout and potential ROW actions.

I hope this helps.

Thanks,

[winston.lumpkins]

NOTE: one of the links to the preferred alignment didn't take- they can be found here: https://engage.zencity.io/portland/en-US/projects/state-high-street-two-way-project 

In the sidebar.  

The key paragraph is: 

These findings were presented to the City's Sustainability & Transportation Committee on January 14, 2026, and were received favorably.

The preferred alternatives are available on this site in the Supporting Documents section.