BATH

While reconstruction of the viaduct in Bath is still months away, some are already anxious to see how its closure in October will impact commuters, businesses and the downtown area as a whole.

The quarter-mile structure on Route 1 has carried traffic over downtown Bath since 1958, and is used by more than 18,000 vehicles on a daily basis, according to Maine Department of Transportation spokesman Ted Talbot.

“Because the traffic impacts for this project are quite significant, we want to be sure we have plenty of coordination with the town, with Bath Iron Works and surrounding businesses so that they all know what it is we’re doing,” he said Thursday.

Though closure is set for October through May 2017, preparations for the project will begin as early as this May before the structure is demolished and replaced, he said.

“We’re going to start to mobilize and get all the equipment in place and start some evaluations under the bridge, just some side work that can be done before the traffic impact,” he said.

The project’s impact on traffic is obviously a big concern for the city, said Public Works Director Peter Owen.

“In order to take down the viaduct they have to bring the traffic all down toward Washington and then just send it right back up on to Route 1,” he said. “There are going to be some periods where they shut that all down and divert traffic right down into the city of Bath, meaning they’re going to come in off the current bridge and come down Front Street and down Centre Street and get back on Route 1.”

In addition to Front Street, Talbot confirmed that traffic could also be rerouted to Washington and High streets, though traffic patterns may change frequently.

“We’ve always had an inspector and … project manager who stays on-site, and part of what they do is monitor traffic. If it’s backed up too much, they’re going to adjust it,” he said. “If they find there’s a bottleneck in a certain time of the day, we’ll do our best to adjust that. We have these traffic plans, and we do these in advance, but sometimes you have to adjust in the moment and so we’re prepared to do that too.”

More fluctuating traffic routes will occur during overnight hours, reducing “impacts for parking and for deliveries and such,” he said.

Talbot also didn’t shy away from the effect that the construction might have on surrounding businesses.

“I do think that some businesses will be impacted by this,” he said. “But we’re doing all we can to be sure that folks know that they’re open and they are accessible.”

Gretchen Jaeger, owner of Halcyon Yarn, which is located near the viaduct, is already preparing for the potential repercussions the project may have on her business.

“I think it will be certainly a little adjustment for us,” she said on Wednesday. “Our biggest concern is that there be very clear communication around town so that people coming into town, especially from either direction, have a really clear sense of how to get to us.”

For Jaeger, the closure would come at a time when her business is its busiest, though she said she is ready to make some readjustments. Her outlook was rosy, as she noted that some of the rerouting might even encourage more people to explore downtown Bath.

“Hopefully if anything, it will be a benefit to those businesses, that the detour actually pushes folks into the downtown more … who might otherwise just fly through Route 1 and not stop,” she said.

With landscaping plans also in place for the viaduct project, Jaeger hoped the finished product would be a welcoming feature to the downtown area.

“I think the biggest thing for us is that when they’re done, it looks good and lasts, so whatever design they choose, we’re really hoping that they go with something that’s as low maintenance and good looking as it can be,” she said.

Talbot said the new structure would remain a two-lane highway, with a 28-foot roadway and have a life expectancy of 100 years.

On Wednesday, BIW spokesman Matt Wickenheiser also shared how the company would handle the closure, as thousands of commuters at the shipyard on Washington Street may be affected.

“We have been briefed by MDOT officials on the project timeline and details,” he said. “We will work with them to communicate any traffic pattern changes, detours, pedestrian routes, etc., as the project proceeds, but we don’t anticipate any serious impacts to traffic for our workforce, and no impact to our parking,” Wickenheiser said. “As we get closer to the project start date, we’ll put out a variety of communications to our workforce so our employees have as much information as possible.”

The $15 million project will also include improvements to the storm water collection system located underground below the viaduct, an upgrade that is long overdue, according to Owen.

“When the state built the original viaduct project, they built a whole series of catch basins that run underneath it on the street, and all of those tie into the sanitary. So when it rains, we get an enormous amount of water into the sanitary system that causes our pump station to overflow and discharge into the river,” Owen said. “And this has been a big issue with the Department of Environmental Protection to get us to implement a separation, but it’s been so expensive that the city has held off on doing that project.”

Owen said the city had pushed for sewage separation along with the viaduct project.

“It doesn’t make sense to rip up an area like this and not do other improvements while you have everything disrupted, so you do get to add on projects like sewage separation, sidewalk improvements,” he said. “Things like that only make sense for the state to do while they’re there. It’s taken a lot of lobbying by the city to get these things implemented.”

Overall, Owen was pleased with the project, and noted that when the viaduct was resurfaced in 2006, it had provided a “dry run” for the traffic impact on the city.

“They took all the traffic and brought it in to the downtown and it worked. It wasn’t a fiasco,” he said. “There will be some problems, but I don’t see it being an issue where there are just going to be stranded vehicles downtown of people not being able to move.”

And while MDOT will continue to keep the public informed about construction activities through their website, Talbot was unsure whether additional public forums would take place before the closure.

But it’s clear that community members are eager to learn more.

“I’ve gotten some calls where people have been panicked about not getting to Woolwich and all this stuff, but it’s not like when you think of July traffic that this is going to be implemented,” Owen said.

dkim@timesrecord.com