BIDDEFORD — Several road construction projects will affect downtown Biddeford this year and next, and city officials outlined them at a public meeting last week.

Public Works Director Guy Casavant said that in addition to state-funded paving projects slated to begin in 2015 – with some extending into 2016 – there will also be major work on gas, water and sewer lines that will affect the downtown area.

Projects will start in April, or “as soon as winter breaks,” said Casavant. First, they will include a a gas-line extension on Main Street, he said, and then the Maine Water Co. will work to repair and replace water lines on Main Street, near Washington Street, as well as on Route 1, between Main and South streets.

A few sewer-related projects are also planned to begin in the spring, said Casavant, which will affect ”“ for the most part ”“ Adams, Lincoln and Center streets as well as Route 1.

The sewer- and water-related projects are in part being done to address problems with the city’s aging and failing infrastructure. For example, one water line that will be replaced is more than 100 years old,

said Casavant.

Once those projects are complete, which is expected to be by the beginning of June, the Maine Department of Transportation will start its paving work as well as construction on two Saco River bridges. Ninety percent of the cost of the DOT-led projects will be covered by the state, said Casavant, while the city will pay for the remaining 10 percent.

“That’s a fairly good deal for the city,” he said. “Certainly they (the DOT) could’ve taken that money and gone to any number of cities in the state and spent those same dollars.”

City engineer Tom Milligan echoed

Casavant’s sentiments.

“Anytime you can only pay 10 cents on the dollar, it’s a great deal,” he said.

So what are the city’s asphalt aspirations for 2015? There are actually only a few.

First, Route 1 will be paved from Union to Gooch streets, said Casavant. Then Jefferson Street will be paved from Main to Alfred streets, and finally, Adams Street will be paved from Main to Jefferson streets.

But after those projects are complete, more will be on the way.

Perhaps the most troublesome for drivers will be the replacement of the Sommesville Bridge, which crosses the Saco River at Pine Street. There will be major “traffic implications” associated with this project, said Casavant.

“It’s a full replacement,” he said. “They’re ripping that bridge right out, putting a new one in, and the method of construction that they’ve chosen is not to do a side bridge. They’re closing the road down for the approximately one-year period that it takes to replace that bridge.”

The bridge that crosses the river at Elm Street will also be subject to DOT work this year, said Casavant, but that will have less of an impact on traffic.

“All that work is underneath the structure. … They will be maintaining traffic while they’re doing it,” he said. “That should have very minimal impact on traffic flow.”

Lastly, in September, the city will embark on a large-scale, sewer-related construction project, which it hopes to finish by the spring of 2016, said Casavant. This will include “completely reconstructing” Main Street, from Route 1 to Railroad Avenue, to install new drainage and sewer systems.

Outside of the downtown area, a combination of state-funded as well as entirely locally funded projects will take place, including the resurfacing of portions of Route 111, the widening and paving of parts of West Street and work on Mile Stretch Road.

City officials brought up a few private projects at last Thursday’s meeting as well, including the Lincoln Mill redevelopment project, which will include repairs to the Lincoln Street sidewalk, and the redevelopment of the former Bank of America building on Main Street.

“We anticipate that that developer is going to start working in there sometime in early June,” Casavant said of the Lincoln Mill project, “and that is like a two-year project. … It shouldn’t have much impact (on residents), but it’s going to be going on.”

At the meeting, Laurie Warchol, of Biddeford Savings bank, said that the Heart of Biddeford has created a subcommittee aimed at keeping residents informed regarding all of these construction projects as well as creating activities to sustain people’s interest in visiting downtown Biddeford while the work is being done.

“We’re very much behind working with the city and MDOT to come up with a coordinated schedule and communicated schedule so we can keep everybody ”“ residents, businesses and visitors ”“ involved with what’s going on, so we can make it pretty efficient,” she said.

— Staff Writer Angelo J. Verzoni can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 329 or [email protected].