MDOT schedules local road projects in Three-Year Plan

By Ed Pierce

Maine’s Department of Transportation has announced its three-year plan for making improvements to state roads and bridges and Windham and Raymond figure prominently among those projects.

Maine Department of Transportation's Three-Year Plan
includes $1.5 million on funding for replacing Varney's
Bridge over the Pleasant River on William Knight Road 
in Windham in 2024. PHOTO BY ED PIERCE  

MDOT has calculated completion for the projects will cost $3.95 billion and has designated funding for 2,599 prioritized projects in Maine for 2023, 2024 and 2025. The department cites rising costs of material and labor as factors in project funding and cites that construction prices have jumped between 40 and 50 percent since 2018.

According to MDOT, about 44 percent of the planned projects will be paid for through federal funding, which the department estimates to be around $1.75 billion for the state in this three-year span. State Highway Fund revenue sources are derived from state per-gallon fuel fees and motor vehicle fees which also include other road maintenance activities such as snow removal.

Bruce Van Note, who serves as MDOT Commissioner, said that for assets that MDOT controls, like the state highway and bridge system, prioritization and selection of projects for the Three-Year Work Plan is driven by MDOT staff committees: the Highway Committee, the Bridge Committee, the Multimodal Committee, the Safety and Mobility Committee, and the Management Team of the Bureau of Maintenance and Operations.

“These committees are comprised of staff from relevant disciplines and specializations. They include engineers and technicians with hundreds of years of cumulative experience. The committees work throughout the year in conjunction with the Bureau of Planning to identify project candidates and prioritize them for potential inclusion in the Work Plan,” he said.

According to Van Note, despite the challenges, new developments and improvement projects provide Maine with the opportunity to make meaningful investments in Maine’s multimodal transportation system including the state’s foundational highway and bridge network, iconic villages and downtowns, transit enhancements, port facilities, culvert replacements that improve road reliability and fish passage, active transportation infrastructure, electric vehicle charging stations, and infrastructure resiliency.

“This Work Plan also assumes the availability of about $75 million in bond funds in Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicle (GARVEE) bonding as allowed by the Federal Highway Administration,” Van Note said. “GARVEE bonds are revenue bonds repaid only with future Federal Highway Administration formula funds. “The $75 million in proposed new GARVEE bond issuances represents about 2 percent of the total value of Work Plan items.”

For 2023 and 2024, Windham projects funded in the Three-Year Plan are:

** $78,000 for repairing header joints and painting bearings and beam ends on the Eel Weir Bridge which carries Route 35 over the Presumpscot River in Windham 0.27 of a mile southwest of Hackett Road. (2023)

** $100,000 for repairing curb, rail, and posts on Mallison Falls Bridge which carries Mallison Street over the Presumpscot River in Windham about 160 feet northeast of Canal Street. (2023)

**$547,000 for sidewalk construction Gray Road starting at Depot Street in South Windham and extending north 0.23 of a mile to the Mountain Division Trail. (2023)

** $585,000 for highway reconstruction Route 302 Beginning 0.45 of a mile west of Outpost Drive and extending west 0.14 of a mile, including the roundabout intersection with Route 202. (2024/2025)

** $1.5 million for replacing Varney’s Bridge over the Pleasant River on William Knight Road. (2024)

** $2.86 million for construction of a new sidewalk on the west side of Route 302 from Shaw’s Access Drive extending 0.48 of a mile north to Amato Drive. (2024)

** $483,000 for intersection reconstruction work to the Route 302 and Albion Road intersection. (2024)

** $855,000 for traffic signal modification along the Route 302 corridor from Route 115 north to White’s Bridge Road. (2024)

** $1.220 million for bridge deck replacement of Loveitt Bridge starting 0.13 miles north of Laskey Road. (2024/2025)

** $1.4 million highway construction and rehabilitation of Route 202 and River Road. (2023)

** $450,000 for construction of a bicycle/pedestrian path beginning at Bridge Street in Westbrook to the Route 202 crossing in Windham. (2023)

** $395,000 for spot improvements to install Backplates with Yellow Reflective Strips and Supplemental Signal Heads along Route 302. (2025)

For 2023 and 2024 in Raymond, funding of $37,000 and $124,000 has been designated for making capital improvements to the Frye Island ferry service between Raymond and Frye Island. <