Waiting to pull into traffic at about 8 a.m. Tuesday in Gorham, Adam Ogden looked up South Street from his pickup truck in his driveway.

“Look at this,” Ogden said as another big truck swung through the intersection in Gorham Village and motored onto South Street. “Eight trucks went by in two minutes.”

The Gorham bypass, which opened in December several months ahead of schedule, alleviated much of the traffic annoyances for Ogden and many other village residents along South and State streets. But, the bypass closed on June 8 for three weeks while paving is completed – a top layer will be added on portions of the road and a roundabout will be modified to aid truck drivers. As a result, some pre-bypass problems have returned.

“There’s another truck – that was all gone with the bypass,” Ogden said.

The bypass became reality on Dec. 5 after a half century of studies and discussion. Built by Shaw Brothers Construction, the 3.4-mile southerly bypass of Gorham Village links South Street (Route 114), Narragansett Street (Route 202) and Ossipee Trail (Route 25).

For the village residents, the bypass closing brought back delays, noise, truck traffic and vibrations. The intersection of routes 114 and 25 in the village handled as many as 40,000 vehicles a day. When it opened, state officials predicted the bypass would handle more than 7,200 vehicles daily. The bypass diverted trucks, including many westbound tankers loaded with oil and gasoline away from a tight downtown turn, easing public safety fears.

The Maine Department of Transportation expects the $28 million bypass to reopen on Monday, June 29, depending on weather during the paving process.

“We’ve all forgotten what traffic was previously like in Gorham,” Ogden said from his pickup truck. “It all went away.”

The bypass drew praise this week from a trucking company manager, business owners and town officials.

“It’s helped the village congestion,” said Town Councilor Burleigh Loveitt, who served on the study committee, as did Ogden, that paved the way for construction.

Rich Otten, manager of Jewett & Noonan Transportation in Baldwin, said the bypass has “definitely” served its purpose. “It saves us a lot of time, especially in the morning and afternoon rush hours,” said Otten, who added the company has up to 18 tractor-trailer trucks a day traveling through Gorham.

An issue for some truckers unfamiliar with the bypass has been the roundabout at Narragansett Street, one of three roundabouts at bypass intersections. To help truckers who have experienced difficulty keeping wheels in the travel lane, existing curbing at the roundabout will be replaced with a new sloped curb.

Mark Latti, a spokesman for the Maine Department of Transportation, said Tuesday that sloped curbs are more forgiving, especially on tires. Latti said department officials and consultants have reviewed traffic at the roundabout but reported that not all truck drivers were having problems navigating it. Latti said the state is paying $21,000 for the curb change.

Latti said problems resulted from driver error. “Structurally, there’s no issue with the design,” Latti said.

Construction of the bypass began in August 2007, and it opened seven months ahead of schedule. The Legislature passed a resolve this year to name it the Bernard Rines Bypass. Rines, a longtime Gorham resident, was instrumental in Gorham’s drive for the bypass. A spokeswoman at a legislative information office said this week the name becomes effective Sept. 12.

Gorham Town Manager David Cole said this week the bypass seems to be working fine.

“There is much less traffic in town, not many big trucks turning at the intersection of 114/25, less traffic congestion during peak travel time,” Cole said, “and I have had many people who live along Route 114 or 25 come up to me and mention that they have seen a big improvement.”

Phil Pierce, 70, of Hollis, a barber at Buster’s Barber Shop on Main Street in Gorham, said the southerly bypass has helped the traffic flow on Main Street

“I think it cut it down,” Pierce, who grew up in Gorham, said about traffic on Main Street. “It’s back to bottlenecks again” with the bypass closed.

Loveitt said that the goal of the southerly bypass, in addition to relieving congestion, was a public safety issue, redirecting the fuel trucks away from the village.

“It was never intended to ameliorate the east-west traffic flow on Main Street,” Loveitt said about the southerly bypass. “It’s backed up plenty at night,” Loveitt said about Main Street traffic.

Ray Letarte, a Main Street resident, said Tuesday more drivers had adapted to using the bypass. “It took a little time to catch on,” Letarte said.

Loveitt said that the bypass has exceeded expectations. It is much easier to do business in the village, Loveitt said.

Carson Lynch, owner of The Gorham Grind on South Street, said there was less congestion downtown after the bypass opened and the village became more pedestrian friendly.

“We’ve had so many locals come in for the first time,” Lynch said.

The bypass also spurred business for the Gorham Diner with its close proximity to the roundabout on Narragansett Street. “We’ve seen new faces,” Don Foudriat, owner of the diner, said Tuesday.

Foudriat said workers patronized the diner during bypass construction and have remained customers. After the bypass opened, he said many commuters call in orders for breakfast sandwiches. The commuters swing in, pick up orders and go back onto the bypass, he said.

“Location has improved dramatically as a result of the bypass,” Foudriat said.

But the bypass wasn’t developed as a panacea for all Gorham traffic woes. Gorham and neighboring Westbrook, along with South Portland and Scarborough, are participating in a traffic study with Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation System (PACTS), a metropolitan planning organization for the Portland area, along with Maine Department of Transportation and Maine Turnpike Authority.

The Cumberland County East-West Corridor Study was approved by the Legislature and signed by Gov. John Baldacci in 2007. A steering committee and an advisory committee are working in tandem to develop solutions to future transportation needs. Loveitt and Cole are members of the steering committee.

Sarah Devlin, the study project manager at the Maine Turnpike Authority, said the advisory committee will meet for its second time at 9 a.m. Thursday, June 18, at the Maine Turnpike Authority, 2360 Congress St., Portland. The advisory committee members include Warren Knight of Westbrook and Tom Ellsworth, the director of the Gorham Economic Development Corp.

The study is aimed at improving public safety, relieving traffic congestion and improving access to Portland International Jetport, I-295 and the turnpike. Possible solutions under review could include bus and rail service, biking or a turnpike spur, which could link up with Gorham’s bypass to ease commuter traffic on other roads like Route 22.

The Maine Turnpike Authority has recently conducted a traffic count of several Gorham roads, including the bypass before it closed. “It should be all tabulated by the end of the month,” said Devlin.

“We’ll have an analysis of traffic patterns,” Loveitt said.

Latti said its traffic count for the bypass would get under way in September when classes resume at the University of Southern Maine.

Ogden said the bypass has been beneficial to the community and the region but “Route 25 is still an issue.”

Gorham’s Main Street is part of Route 25. Along with the southerly bypass, the state laid out a proposed northerly bypass on a map. Proponents say it would ease Main Street congestion, but the northerly bypass hasn’t been funded.

In past years while mowing his lawn, Letarte recalled talking with drivers stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic that some times extended from the village to Mosher’s Corner.

“I could hold a conversation with whoever was in a car,” Letarte said.

Cutline (Gorham Bypass 5) – A tanker swings from State Street onto South Street in Gorham Tuesday during the morning rush hour. The Gorham Bypass is closed to finish paving, routing truck traffic into Gorham Village. The Gorham Bypass as seen looking towards Brandybrook Hill from the Flaggy Meadow Road bridge. The bypass is closed while paving is finished.