WESTBROOK – It’s been a busy summer for work crews on the heavily traveled William Clarke Drive, but the $5.5 million state project, designed to make the road safer for drivers and pedestrians, is nearly finished.
The project began last year just after Memorial Day, and resumed in April of this year. It was supposed to be finished at the end of July, but the deadline was extended until Oct. 15.
“They’ll be done before that,” said John Mayol, the project manager contracted by the Maine Department of Transportation to do the work.
The last steps, Mayol said, mostly involve striping work, which shouldn’t take more than two weeks to finish. The work marks the end of a major renovation of the busy roadway, which runs parallel to Main Street, and extends from Saco Street to the Westbrook Arterial.
Mayol said a 2008 traffic count by the state showed 22,800 vehicles use William Clarke Drive every day.
“I’m sure it’s more than that now,” he said.
The road separates residential neighborhoods to the south from downtown Westbrook on the north side, a part of the city that officials have been hoping to develop in recent years. But the road had some big problems – it wasn’t pedestrian friendly, the lighting was bad at night and crosswalks were poorly marked. Further, the four-lane road suffered from a lack of turn lanes, which in part caused a number of serious car accidents.
The newly designed William Clarke Drive is designed to fix all of those problems. All the crosswalks, he said, now have more visible signage, and there will be push-button signals at the Church Street and Brackett Street intersections, along with a new sidewalk along the south side of the road.
The road also now is divided by a 10-foot-wide median. Mayol said this gives pedestrians a chance to stop halfway across, and means anyone crossing the road will only have to watch traffic coming from one direction at a time.
“You’re not trying to cross four lanes of highway,” he said. “It’ll definitely be an improvement.”
The improvements also include significantly more lighting from decorative lampposts along the road. City Administrator Jerre Bryant said this week that the new lamps use more energy-efficient bulbs, and despite the larger number of lights, he does not anticipate a significant increase in electricity usage.
For drivers, the road now includes turn lanes at major intersections, making traffic flow more smoothly and safely. Mayol also said the intersection with the Westbrook Arterial has been completely redesigned, in favor of making the two roads flow together better.
Drivers will still be able to get from the arterial to Main Street, but, Mayol said, the William Clarke Drive intersection is designed to help traffic flowing from Gorham to Portland and back, which accounts for much of the commuter traffic that uses the roadway every day.
“The majority of the traffic (from Portland) goes down William Clarke Drive,” he said. “Now, they just flow through there.”
Also, Mayol said, the city is working on a new traffic light pattern system, which will be run out of a server at the public safety building. The system, he said, is designed so that anyone driving the speed limit along the road will encounter no more than one red light the entire way.
“You should be able to make it all the way through,” he said.
The improvements also include some aesthetic upgrades, including various trees, shrubs and other plantings, along with banner arms on the lampposts, which city officials said will hold banners promoting the city and announcing major holidays.
On Tuesday, people in the area agreed that the changes were an improvement. Steve Totman, owner of The Baker’s Bench, which sits on the Brackett Street corner of William Clarke Drive, said he liked the changes.
“It definitely has gotten a lot better,” he said. “We haven’t seen an accident here since the construction at this corner,” he said.
The Brackett Street intersection, he said, now offers much more visibility. He said he also appreciated the new “No U-turn” signs that have been installed.
“Everybody was doing (illegal) U-turns here,” he said.
Fred Cummings, who was walking to work at a local hardware store, said he felt “a little safer,” but said he still felt a lower speed limit – it’s now 35 mph – would help.
“I just think (there) should be slower traffic,” he said.
Justin Churchill, 21, who also frequently walks and rides his bike along William Clarke Drive, said the road has been notoriously dangerous. More than once, he said, he has been lightly struck by passing vehicles.
“He just blew me off my bike,” he said, recalling one incident where a turning motorist struck him.
Churchill said he feels much safer now, however.
“I think it’s the island,” he said, pointing to the median.
Churchill said the more visible signs pointing to the crosswalk areas are helpful, too.
“People aren’t speeding as much through here,” he said. “They’re more cautious.”
Mirna Lewis, who works in the area and frequently crosses William Clarke Drive on her lunch hour, said she “definitely” feels safer now. She also said the signage was one of the best improvements.
“The signs are definitely more clear,” she said.
The cones will be gone soon as the William Clarke Drive
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