Northeast CanAm Connections: Integrating the Economy & Transportation
Economic Development Research Group, for Maine and a consortium of US States and Canadian Provinces, 2005.

When a region's economy spans national borders, it becomes necesssary to examine how economic development opportunities can depend on improving transportation connections on both sides of the border. Initiated by funding from US Congress as the Northeast Border Corridor Study, the initiative has brought together economic development and transportation departments from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York State, with their counterparts in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario. The participating state and provincial representatives subsequently agreed to work together on a study name: "Northeast CanAm Connections: Integrating the Economy and Transportation.

The focus of the study is on identifying and assessing opportunities to attract investment and to create jobs by promoting east-west trade corridors and improving multi-modal transportation access that can effectively increase competitiveness and capture new business investment for the region.

Economic Development Research Group (EDRG) was hired technical manager for study development and collaboration. This has included canvassing local, regional and state/provincial agencies about their economic development and transportation access priorities and issues, as well as convening an inter-agency meeting of federal, state/provincial and local leaders to help develop the collaboration process. EDRG, in its first phase effort, focused on definition of study purpose and objectives, formal inter-agency agreement and development a scope of work for future consultant studies. In the second phase, EDRG is serving as technical manager overseeing direction of the consultant team of Wilbur Smith Associates, HDR, iTrans, Davidson-Peterson and Stafford Business Advisors.

(Click on map above to enlarge view of the study area)