WINDHAM – Cheryl Page, a longtime River Road reconstruction advocate, has seen this before.

The Maine Department of Transportation gets plans together to rebuild the busy commuter route from North Windham to Westbrook and then pulls the plug. She remembers all too well when it happened in 2004. And though wary, she’s hoping the state’s plans to rebuild River Road continue as promised and a repeat of history doesn’t take place.

“I’m happy about it, but I’m just a little leery it won’t happen. We had the money in 2004 and they decided to do something else that was more important, so they took our money. So we’ve been waiting a long time to get this road done,” said the longtime employee of Mr. Mike’s (the former Puffin Stop), at the corner of River Road and Route 302.

But if Monday night’s final public hearing regarding the reconstruction of River Road is any indication, Page’s concerns should be unwarranted, since this time the project is a go, transportation officials say, and comes complete with a traffic-calming roundabout at the intersection of Windham Center Road.

The roundabout was the last project detail that needed to be hammered out before final plans can be drawn, project manager Ernie Martin said. By the end of Monday’s meeting, Martin said the roundabout – as opposed to an unsignalized intersection with a left-turning lane – would be the preferred method of dealing with the dangerous Windham Center Road intersection. Those on hand, including many River Road residents, as well as members of the public advisory committee that had discussed the project with state officials for the last two years, were in support of the roundabout.

Martin also announced the roundabout had qualified for more than $400,000 worth of federal highway safety money, more than enough to cover the work, which Martin said would add $300,000 to the project. The federal money will be available in the 2014-2015 budget cycle that coincides with the expected construction schedule for the 5.9-mile-long, $6 million dollar reconstruction project.

The roundabout will also slow oncoming River Road drivers, who fly through the intersection now, residents said. The state’s plans to improve sight distance at the intersection and pave the roadway would only lead to higher speeds, necessitating some sort of traffic-calming measure, Martin said.

While Page, who collected more than 800 signatures for a petition she sent to the transportation department in 2009, was initially skeptical of a roundabout, she said she sees the safety benefits of slowing traffic. Jeff Lamb, a vocal resident at the meeting, however, remains skeptical and made his case plain Monday night. Mostly, he’s concerned about how roundabout maintenance through the years could impact Windham taxpayers.

“I’m worried about after the state leaves. I’m worried about the concrete that’s put down there. The one down in Gorham [at the intersection of Route 237 and Route 202], they’ve already had to replace the concrete twice. That’s going to fall onto the town,” Lamb said.

When asked about the roundabout, Windham Public Works Director Doug Fortier said he supports its introduction, saying new salt-resistant concrete should help prevent deterioration of the concrete where it would be installed along the inner circle of the roundabout. (While the outer lane of the roundabout will be the travel lane, the inner circle will be raised about 7 inches to discourage cars from cutting across the raised portion while still allowing passage of trucks with long trailers.)

Fortier also said plowing, another of Lamb’s concerns, shouldn’t be a problem. He said Gorham crews negotiate the four roundabouts in their town well and that Windham’s crews would likely make two loops around the roundabout working from the inside curbing to the outside travel lane.

“I support it, and obviously it will be a learning curve for our guys, but [the roundabout] will make it an enjoyable commuter route but also a safer road. So how can you calm traffic down, especially with River Road being a main commuter route? You can put a roundabout in,” Fortier said.

Now that the public has weighed in on its preference for a roundabout, Martin will button up the final designs and then postpone advertising the project to construction companies until the right-of-way legal process is complete. Luther Yonce, who handles right-of-way matters for the transportation department, distributed a booklet at Monday’s meeting regarding property acquisition and then briefed the public as to the process. He said none of the homes along the road would be taken by eminent domain, but that frontages would be impacted either permanently or temporarily during the construction process. Property owners would be compensated for the value of the land if it doesn’t lie within the state’s right of way, he said.

Yonce said the right of way can vary from 3 rods (49.5 feet) to 6 rods (100 feet). Much of the roadway is 4 rods wide (66 feet). He said the state would try to adhere to the 4-rod width throughout the scope of the project, which extends from near Newhall Road in South Windham to Page Road in North Windham. Utility poles would be impacted, as well as Portland Water District water lines running along the road and connecting lines to houses.

Once the right-of-way process is complete, likely in late spring 2013, Martin said, the project could go out to bid, with construction beginning next July, possibly sooner. Martin hopes to complete the project by December 2014. He’s hoping to begin construction of the lower half of River Road, from Route 202 to the Westbrook line, if the Maine Legislature approves funding, in 2015 or 2016. Designs for the lower half would need to be drawn but preliminary survey work is already complete in expectation of a full reconstruction.

Jeff Lamb, in foreground, listens to River Road advocate Martin Shuer, with microphone, speak about the benefits of incorporating a roundabout at the intersection of River Road and Windham Center Road during the upcoming reconstruction of 6 miles of River Road. Lamb was one of a few residents leery of a roundabout at a meeting held Monday night at the Windham High School regarding final design of the long-awaited project. Maine Department of Transportation officials, Ernie Martin and Luther Yonce, are at left. (Staff photo by John Balentine)