The Maine Department of Transportation will begin looking next week at some of the impacts a proposed traffic management plan for Route 1 in Wiscasset could have on the historic village.

Department officials will meet Monday night with members of the Wiscasset Historic Preservation Commission before hosting a public meeting on May 10 to discuss alternatives to building a bypass around Wiscasset.

The state is recommending two design options for making Route 1, which is Main Street in the downtown area, safer for pedestrians and for reducing traffic congestion, one of which would require acquiring a downtown building and tearing it down for parking.

“Whatever we decide to do downtown could have an adverse impact on historic structures,” said Gerry Audibert, a Regional Planner for the Department of Transportation.

Audibert said the design plan preferred by the department – known as option two – would involve the state buying a Water Street building owned by Coastal Enterprises Inc., demolishing the structure, and creating parking spaces for 54 vehicles.

That option would allow the state to remove on-street parking on Main Street, which the state says will allow traffic to move through the downtown more easily and make it safer for pedestrians trying to cross the street.

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“The building we will be purchasing may or may not be considered historic,” he said. “It has been modified several times and is not original.”

The Maine Historic Preservation Commission says Wiscasset is one of three architecturally significant villages in Maine, along with Paris Hill and Castine, according to the town’s website. Five downtown buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1973, a significant portion of downtown Wiscasset became part of the National Register.

The meeting with the Wiscasset Historic Preservation Committee is at the town office Monday from 5-7 p.m.

State officials introduced their alternatives for building a bypass around Wiscasset at a public hearing in March. The May 10 meeting is a follow-up to that meeting as the transportation department moves closer to a construction start date in late 2017.

Audibert said the department plans to hold an open house at the Wiscasset Community Center Gymnasium, 242 Gardiner Road, from 3-5 p.m. on May 10. Those who attend will be able to meet individually with a representative from the agency.

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The one-on-one sessions will be followed that night with a public meeting in the same location from 6-8 p.m. DOT representatives will present concept plans, listen to concerns, receive public comment and answer questions.

A bypass would have cost an estimated $115 million to build and would have forced 36 businesses and privately owned properties to be relocated.

There are now three traffic management options under consideration, including doing nothing, which the state says will worsen traffic congestion over time. Neither of the remaining two design options would cost more than $5 million each.

The state estimates that 17,000 vehicles a day use Main Street in Wiscasset, while the daily traffic count can increase to 22,000 vehicles a day in July and August, when the historic village can be the scene of long traffic backups.

Option two, which is favored by the transportation department, eliminates on-street parking between Water and Middle streets.

Option one would continue to allow on-street parking, but would result in Main Street becoming at least 6 feet narrower. Parked vehicles would have to back out into traffic, causing unnecessary delays.

The town of Wiscasset will hold a non-binding referendum in June to gauge public support for the three options under consideration, Audibert said. After the citizen referendum, Wiscasset’s Board of Selectmen would be asked to approve a design option by no later than June 30.


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