The Maine Turnpike Authority is extending its timeline for beginning the process of building its Gorham Connector until at least this fall, in response to public feedback about the project.

Attendees of a public input session with the authority on March 25 spoke for three and a half hours, according to a statement from the authority.

“The volume and depth of the comments received at the March 25th meeting reflect the high level of public interest and concern regarding the project,” Erin Courtney, the authority’s director of communications and government relations, said in a statement.

One of the authority’s next steps in the process would be applying for various construction permits needed to begin the work. The announcement indicated it was delaying the applications for those permits. 

The announcement did not indicate how long or until when the authority was extending its permit application deadline, but Courtney said the extension could go as late as the fall of this year.

“There is no defined timeline on when a permit application would be filed at this point,” she said via email.

Courtney also said the authority has conducted field studies for where it wants to build the connector, examining local wildlife, wetlands and other factors.  

The authority has shared its findings with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and the US Army Corps of Engineers, along with other agencies and interested parties.

“We are awaiting preliminary feedback from them on the information we have provided,” she said.

In its announcement, the authority also noted that the authority’s executive director, Peter Mills, is leaving the agency in September.

“This change necessitates additional time to ensure that those taking over leadership of the project are fully briefed and integrated, so that we can provide the proper oversight and management that the public expects,” the authority wrote.