BANGOR, Maine (AP)   The Maine Department of Transportation has acquired four properties in recent months to make way for an expansion of I-395 another six miles.

The department for years has wanted to extend the highway past the Brewer-Holden line to connect with Route 9. But many residents are opposed.

The Bangor Daily News reports that a bill sponsored by Republican state Sen. Kimberley Rosen, who represents the affected towns, would suspend the expansion and have the state hire an outside firm to analyze the project’s costs and benefits.

Longtime Holden residents Stephan Lee’s property abuts property now owned by the MDOT. He calls the extension “a big waste of money.”