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| The $1.5 million replacement of Varney's Bridge over the Pleasant River on William Knight Road in Windham has been scheduled by the Maine Department of Transportation to be performed in 2023, instead of this summer, as it was originally proposed. PHOTO BY ED PIERCE |
Unlike last year when bridge work on Route 115 created a
significant impact upon motorists and traffic in Windham, the summer months of
2022 are going to see fewer Maine DOT projects in the community, but that will
change again heading into 2023.
Only two Maine DOT projects planned for this summer in Windham according to Maine DOT’s Three-Year Work Plan, but both should affect commutes into the town.
The first project
that Maine DOT is undertaking this summer in Windham is the installation of
adaptive traffic lights in North Windham stretching from the Route 115
intersection north along Route 302 to Trails End Road. The cost of this project
is $1.45 million and the new upgraded traffic lights are expected to alleviate
congestion along the Route 302 corridor by adjusting the timing of red, yellow
and green lights to accommodate changing traffic patterns and equitably
distributing moving vehicles through the area.
The second project affecting Windham motorists will be the preliminary design engineering work for the construction of a bike and pedestrian trail/path on the Mountain Division Line from Bridge Street in Route 202 crossing in Windham. This is a $450,000 project.
Some of those
projects include:
** Installation of backplates with yellow reflective safety strips and supplemental signal heads along Route 302 from Portland to Windham at a cost of $395,000.
** Highway
construction and rehabilitation for Route 302 starting 0.45 of a mile west of
Outpost Drive extending west 0.14 of a mile and including the Route 202
roundabout. The cost of this initiative is $585,000.
** Repaving Route
302 starting at the Route 202 roundabout and extending north 2.85 miles.
** Replacement of
Varney’s Bridge over the Pleasant River on William Knight Road at a cost of
$1.5 million.
** Bridge deck
replacement for Loveitt Bridge over the Pleasant River some 0.13 of a mile
north of Laskey Road at a cost of $1 million.
** Construction
of a new pedestrian sidewalk on the west side of Route 302 in North Windham
running from Shaw’s Access Drive about 0.48 of a mile north to Amato Drive at a
cost of $3.1 million.
** Highway and
safety improvements at a cost of $156,000 to be made at the intersection of
Route 302 and Albion Road.
In updating the
state’s Three-Year Work Plan earlier this year, Maine DOT Commissioner Bruce A.
Van Note said the value of these types of projects helps ensure the safety, economic
opportunity, and quality of life for residents.
He said that
during last year’s statewide election, more than 70 percent of voters approved
a $100 million transportation bond, providing much-needed state match for
federal and other funds to support Maine DOT’s capital programs.
According to Van Note,
maintenance and operation of Maine’s extensive highway and bridge system accounts
for a large portion of Maine DOT’s overall work activities.
“This work is
essential to the movement of people and goods and to the health of the Maine
economy. It is also an essential and cost-effective means of protecting the
state highway and bridge system,” Van Note said. “From year to year, and within
CY2022, actual expenditures for this work will depend on the constantly
changing condition of the transportation system and, importantly, on weather.
For those reasons, overall expenditures for routine maintenance and operation
of the highway and bridge system are shown in the Three-Year Work Plan as
approximate, annual budget figures.”
He said that highway
and bridge maintenance and operations work accounts for $535 million in this 2022-2024
Work Plan, while three-year annual averages for major maintenance and
operations work statewide include:
** $10.3 million
in bridge and structural maintenance.
** $5.2 million
in bridge and other infrastructure inspections and inventory.
** $15.5 million
in custodial maintenance.
** $22.4 million
in drainage maintenance.
** $6.6 million
in operational and safety maintenance.
** $9.9 million
in surface and base maintenance.
** $46.4 million
in winter maintenance. <
