State three-year highway work plan includes Windham-area projects

The Maine Department of Transportation will contribute $1.45
million to install adaptive traffic signals along Route 302 in
Windham starting at the Route 115 intersection and continuing
through Trails End Road. The signals detect changing traffic
patterns and will continuously distribute green-light time
equitably for all traffic movement, aiming to reduce congestion
by creating smoother traffic flow through the town.
PHOTO BY ED PIERCE   

By Ed Pierce

It’s been said that roads and bridges do not automatically upgrade or repair and rebuild themselves and that's why each year, state legislators collaborate with the Maine Department of Transportation to prioritize projects that make our commutes safer and smoother.

Maine DOT’s Three-Year Work Plan outlines the efforts and initiatives that the department intends to perform over the next three-year span. It is calendar year-based and includes all Maine DOT work activities across the state.

While projects and activities listed for Calendar Year 2021 have the most definite schedules and estimates, those for Calendar Years 2022 and 2023 may be more subject to change and depending upon available state funding.

Earlier this week State Representative Patrick Corey, a Republican representing Windham, announced that the Maine Department of Transportation’s Work Plan for Calendar Years 2021, 2022 and 2023 is available and includes specific highway improvement projects to be conducted in the community.

Statewide, the estimated value of work performed as outlined in the plan totals more than 2,180 individual work items with a total value of $2.71 billion. MDOT estimates that from 2021 to 2023, it will invest in more than 100 miles of highway construction and rehabilitation; 893 miles of pavement preservation; 2,175 miles of light capital paving for roads and highways; 222 safety and spot improvements; and 166 different bridge projects.

Corey said that the three-year MDOT Work Plan for Windham from 2021 to 2023 includes seven different projects totaling more than $2.5 million.

He said that this work includes numerous improvements to Route 302 in Windham such as rehabilitation and construction to the roundabout as well as safety improvements made possible through the municipal partnership initiative program.

“MDOT Work Plan projects will benefit our local communities in many ways,” Corey said in a press release. “I am pleased to see several MDOT projects scheduled for the next three years in our area. They will make our roads safer and benefit the local economy.” 

Among the planned MDOT projects Corey announced for Windham for 2021 are:

** Route 115. A project will be replacing joints, applying sealer to wearing surface, and repair abutment to the Narrows Bridge over Ditch Brook, located 260 feet west of Running Brook Road in Windham. The cost of this project is $150,000.

** William Knight Road. A specific planning and outreach project will examine replacement of Varney's Bridge over the Pleasant River located 0.44 of a mile northwest of Route 4. The cost of this project is $25,000.

** Falmouth Road. Crews will pave the roadway surface beginning 0.03 of a mile south of Stevens Road and extending south 0.79 of a mile to Route 202. The cost of this project is $32,000.

** Route 302. MDOT will join the Town of Windham in the Municipal Partnership Initiative Program and fund the installation of adaptive traffic signaling systems at various intersections. The adaptive signal control technology will feature the timing of red, yellow and green lights to accommodate changing traffic patterns and ease traffic congestion along Route 302. The main benefits of adaptive signal control technology over conventional signal systems currently in place are that it will be able to continuously distribute green-light time equitably for all traffic movement, improve travel time reliability by progressively moving vehicles through green lights, reduce congestion by creating smoother flow, and prolong the effectiveness of traffic signal timing. The adaptive signal project will begin at Route 115 and extend northwest 1.14 miles to Trails End Road. The cost of this project is $1.45 million.

** Route 302. MDOT will join the Planning Partnership Initiative Program to conduct a feasibility study for alleviating traffic congestion on the route through town. The project begins at Route 202 and extends north 6.32 miles through Windham. The cost of the project is $150,000.

Corey also announced two projects that are planned to take place in 2022:

** Route 302. Highway rehabilitation as state crews remove and replace the wearing course to reset the deterioration process of the highway surface. The project will begin 0.45 of a mile west of Outpost Drive and extend west 0.14 of a mile, including the roundabout intersection of Route 302 with Route 202. The cost of the highway rehabilitation project is $585,000.

** Route 302. Highway safety improvements will be made to the intersection of Route 302 and Albion Road. The total cost of this project is $120,000. <