Jan. 9—Construction on an ambitious project to overhaul one of Portland’s busiest streets is getting closer to construction thanks, in part, to a $2 million grant from the federal government.
Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, announced Wednesday that the city received the long-sought grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
“The construction of the Franklin Street arterial in the late 1960s had a challenging impact on many Portlanders, resulting in the demolition of whole neighborhoods, the displacement of longtime residents, and a permanent physical divide through the heart of the city,” Pingree said in an emailed statement. “With this project, the City is taking an important step towards creating a safer, more equitable, and more unified Portland.”
Markos Miller, who has been advocating for changes to Franklin Street for years, said in an email Thursday that the grant “shows a strong level of commitment to our community’s vision for a Franklin Street that aligns with our goals for housing, climate resiliency, economic development, and safe, sustainable transportation.”
Miller said he was grateful for the work by the city, the Maine Department of Transportation and Pingree on the project.
The project to overhaul Franklin Street, a major thoroughfare that runs through downtown Portland, has been in the works for nearly two decades and has been projected to cost $26 million. The city will need more funding to pay for the full project, but the grant is a step forward. Construction is expected to start sometime between 2026 and 2030, according to Pingree’s office.
The plans aims to restore the road to something closer to what it once was — a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly neighborhood — by eliminating the large grassy median and pushing all four lanes of traffic together, creating more space for bike lanes, sidewalks and new housing and businesses.
The busy four-lane road connecting Portland’s downtown to Interstate 295 was once part of a vibrant neighborhood of row houses and corner stores that resembled the West End. But the push toward urban renewal in the 1960s — a movement that aimed to clear cities of their so-called decaying areas — wiped out the neighborhood to make way for the modern day arterial and grassy median.
Beginning in 2009, a group of concerned neighbors got together to push for an overhaul of the street. The City Council approved a master plan to redesign Franklin Street in 2015, but it stalled because of lack of funding. Then, in September 2023, the City Council laid out a tentative timeline for construction and announced their plan to apply for federal funding.
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