A one-mile stretch of Route 1 in Scarborough could temporarily lose one of its two northbound lanes this summer.

A proposal by the Maine Department of Transportation would elevate a portion of Route 1 over Scarborough Marsh in anticipation of future flooding and eliminate a northbound lane to make room for a path for pedestrians and cyclists.

A pilot project would temporarily merge the northbound lanes from June 15 to Aug. 10 to collect data and measure the impact on traffic.

The project would affect Route 1 between Mainely Driving School near Payne Road and Southgate Road, which is near Tractor Supply Co. There will be an alternating merge where the two northbound lanes turn into one.

MaineDOT presented the project to the transportation committee on March 24 and will pitch it to the Scarborough Town Council on April 22. The council will decide whether to move forward with the project. If the town approves, the temporary traffic pattern will go live on Monday, June 15, and MaineDOT and Scarborough will review the data afterward and decide whether the trial was successful and whether to make the change permanent.

The proposal is part of a climate resiliency project because of the road’s vulnerability to sea level rise. According to a 2025 Flooding Vulnerability Assessment, the risk of coastal flooding will increase in Scarborough as sea levels rise.

According to MaineDOT’s data and calculations, traffic on Route 1 is below the road’s capacity, so closing a northbound lane is not expected to have too much impact. In August 2024, during the peak travel hour, an average of 1,300 vehicles drove southbound on Route 1, and 870 vehicles drove northbound.

Most people who spoke during public comment during the transportation committee meeting Tuesday were not opposed to elevating Route 1 but were not in favor of eliminating a lane on an already busy road.

Some members of the transportation committee said they were concerned about the diversion of traffic onto Payne Road.

Jennifer Ladd, a transportation committee member, said Route 1 is unfriendly to pedestrians and cyclists, so more people would bike or walk if it had a multiuse path. In July 2025, a cyclist was killed in a hit-and-run crash near the intersection of Route 1 and Southgate Road.

Some members of the public said pedestrians and cyclists do not need the multiuse path as they can use the Eastern Trail — which runs approximately parallel to Route 1 — to cross the marsh.

Councilors Jon Anderson and Scott Doherty were among the members of the public who spoke against the project. Anderson said at the meeting if he had to decide on the pilot project that night, he would probably say no.