SCARBOROUGH – To fix the high-crash intersection of Running Hill Road and Route 114 in Scarborough, the Maine Department of Transportation is proposing the creation of a left-turn-only lane onto Running Hill Road, which would allow through traffic on Route 114 to keep moving.

On Tuesday, April 1, the transportation department will hold a public hearing at Scarborough Town Hall on its idea to make the intersection safer. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. Brian Keezer, the project manager, said the public hearing will be a chance for residents to ask questions and to give feedback on the proposal.

Keezer said the Department of Transportation has a budget of $335,000 for the intersection project, which includes all design and construction costs. Assuming the planned turn lane is well received, the project plans would be “advanced to the final design stage,” according to Keezer. He expects, if all goes well, that the project would then be put out to bid in 2015.

However, he also said, “the plans are subject to change based on feedback we receive at the hearing.”

Keezer said crash records from the intersection indicate a pattern of rear-enders and angle-type crashes “consistent with inadequate separation of turning traffic from through traffic on Route 114.”

He said the idea is to construct an eastbound, left-turn lane on Route 114, also known as Gorham Road, which would provide 200 feet of vehicle queuing in order to properly separate the turning traffic from eastbound through traffic.

In all, Keezer said, Route 114 would be widened on the south side to provide a bypass lane for the through traffic. He added that the proposed widening could be accomplished within the existing right of way, so there would be no need to take any private property.

Keezer said the annual average daily traffic count on Route 114 northwest of Running Hill Road is projected to be more than 17,400 vehicles per day this year. Southeast of the intersection, the traffic count is projected to be more than 12,300 vehicles per day, and on Running Hill Road it’s projected to be close to 6,000 vehicles per day.

“We know this is a very busy intersection, and our goal, through this project, is to allow the traffic to flow through it more safely and more efficiently than it does now,” he said. “We’re hoping it will reduce the number of crashes that are occurring there currently as well as reduce some of the congestion.”

Scarborough Town Planner Dan Bacon said this week that the town is supportive of the state’s efforts to fix the dangerous intersection and added, “(We) don’t have any issues with the design as we understand it, but it is still early in the process.”

Bacon said the most important aspect of the project is that it would “improve traffic flow on Route 114. This intersection has both a heavy left turn and through-movement of vehicles, so traffic waiting to take a left often delays through-traffic or forces them to drive on the shoulder to pass. (This) project proposes a separate left-turn lane to enable left-turning vehicles and through vehicles to have their own individual lanes.”

He said because Route 114 is a state road, there would be no local match requirement for the town of Scarborough. However, Bacon said, the town might take this opportunity to repave the entire segment of roadway involved in the project and “to potentially realign Larabee Farm Road to better align with Running Hill Road.”

This image shows the intersection of Running Hill Road and Route 114 (Gorham Road) in Scarborough, which the Maine Department of Transportation says is a high-crash location.