The Scarborough Town Council this week was expected to accept a donation of approximately 20 acres of land from the Maine Turnpike Authority, which would allow the continuation of the Eastern Trail between Scarborough and South Portland.

The trail, which is largely built along the old Eastern Railroad, runs between Kittery and Bug Light Park in South Portland, and is also part of the East Coast Greenway, which runs between Florida and Maine.

The Eastern Trail in Maine includes both on- and off-road sections and is popular with local bicyclists, walkers, bird watchers and families looking to get out into nature.

The council was scheduled to meet on Wednesday, after the Current’s deadline, but in a memo issued prior to the meeting Town Manager Tom Hall said the land donation would “help close the 1.6-mile gap in the (Eastern Trail) that exists between the Wainwright Fields in South Portland and the Nonesuch River crossing in Scarborough.”

The property is located at 305 Highland Ave. and was originally purchased by the turnpike authority in the late 1990s as wetland mitigation for impacts associated with a new highway interchange it was building, Hall said.

He said the permit obligations for the interchange project have now been satisfied and the turnpike authority is willing to convey the property to the town of Scarborough “so that the town can control, improve and maintain” it as part of the Eastern Trail and “for general public access, use and recreation.”

Bob Hamblen, president of the Eastern Trail Alliance, which operates and maintains the trail in Maine, said that completing the gap between Scarborough and South Portland “is critical to connecting Greater Portland with points south.”

He also said the Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation System and the Maine Department of Transportation, which have both provided key funding for the Eastern Trail, “are very aware of the push for completion, and funds from both are making this next phase – Wainwright to Pleasant Hill Road – possible.”

Dan Bacon, the Scarborough Town Planner, said this week that the northern portion of the 1.6-mile gap “is currently being designed, and we hope it will be under construction this coming winter to build the trail from the Wainwright Fields in South Portland to Pleasant Hill Road in Scarborough.”

The other half of the gap, Bacon said, “requires much more significant funding due to the bridge required over the (Amtrak) railroad tracks.” In addition, other challenges that need to be addressed before the link between Scarborough and South Portland can be created include crossing Pleasant Hill Road and the construction of a bridge over the Nonesuch River.

Hamblen said, “Fortunately, two of the (Eastern Trail Management District’s) most capable and supportive member communities, the town of Scarborough and city of South Portland, are working hard to make this happen.”

Bacon said donation of the 20-acre parcel off Highland Avenue is not only of potential benefit to the Eastern Trail, but that it could also “provide a spur to connect users to the trail from the neighborhoods off Highland Avenue in South Portland.”

In addition, Hall said the land currently has two trails that were designed to allow public access. However, those trails “have not been developed or maintained in a way that is welcoming to users,” which could change with the change in ownership.