Under the best circumstances, River Road reconstruction would not be complete until 2015

Reconstruction of the dilapidated and well-traveled River Road will likely be completed no earlier than 2015, and then only if funding forecasts and state priorities remain steady, officials from the Maine Department of Transportation told the Windham Town Council Tuesday.

Preliminary engineering, design work and the acquisition of rights of way – a $1.2 million project and the first step in reconstruction – is included in the department’s two-year plan and will begin in October, said Chris Mann, policy department specialist. The River Road project, tagged at roughly $20 million, would then compete with 18 others recommended by the state to be completed over the next six years.

“There is not going to be any solid, granite guarantee,” Mann said of the likelihood now of the River Road making the cut.

Mann and John Cannell, regional manager covering southern Maine for the Department of Transportation, came to Windham to provide an update on the project, which has been delayed by the state for years. They were met by councilors confused over why the work has been delayed, and concerned about the safety of drivers along the road, a major connector between the Lakes Region and Greater Portland that gets 7,000-11,000 vehicles a day.

The reconstruction of the roughly 10-mile River Road was first named a priority by the state in 2004. When a confluence of events, including Hurricane Katrina and the high rate of construction in Asia, increased costs and drained funding, the state had to cancel a number of major road projects, including the work planned for the River Road.

But the River Road project then disappeared from the list of state priorities for the next two-year cycle, confounding town officials who were, and remain, skeptical as to why it was passed over. A maintenance surface treatment of River Road, a short-term fix scheduled for this year, was also canceled due to lack of funding, this time because of cuts in the state budget due to the economic downturn.

“How could we go from that to zero?” asked Councilor David Tobin Tuesday night.

In answering the question, Cannell and Mann painted a grim picture of the condition of the state’s roads, and of the department’s ability to keep up with a steadily mounting number of projects in the face of continued funding shortfalls. River Road, Cannell said, may be in bad shape, but its situation is one that is repeated throughout the state.

“You have to understand, I hear this from a lot of communities,” said Cannell, whose region covers York and Cumberland counties, as well as the Bath area. “I have more than one River Road.”

When making decisions about which projects to fund, the state has to look at many issues, including safety, traffic levels and alternative routes. For instance, Route 302 between Bridgton and Fryeburg has no alternative, so it moved up on the list. People driving from Windham to Greater Portland can use Route 302 instead of the River Road, Cannell said.

The department, Cannell said, is juggling projects and attempting to put very limited resources toward rebuilding the worst roads, while putting “Band-Aids” on others just to keep them together. His worst fear is that the roads will get past the point of repair if the state’s funding issues are not addressed.

“I don’t know that we can get the roads back that are that poor,” said Cannell.

But as the River Road waits for reconstruction, residents and others who use the road are in danger, councilors said. According to a report by the Windham Police Department that was presented Tuesday, the River Road has had 238 accidents in the last three years, with more than 50 resulting in personal injuries and one fatality. There have been at least three pedestrian deaths there in the last five years.

The road is extremely narrow at points, said Councilor Liz Wisecup, with soft shoulders where there are shoulders at all. The road’s severe crown and instability make winter plowing difficult and create a safety hazard, said Town Manager Tony Plante.

“It’s impossible to maintain in a condition that is safe,” he said.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Cheryl Page, who lives along the River Road, gave the transportation officials a petition with more than 800 names asking that the reconstruction be made a priority.

“It’s so broken up,” said Page. “I’m afraid someone is going to be hurt real bad.”

Councilors Donna Chapman and Carol Waig said the road is so bad the town should consider closing it to local traffic until the state ponies up money for repairs, which Cannell and Mann dismissed as likely illegal. The council is going to ask the state for a review of the speed limits along River Road.

The plan to fix River Road, as it is envisioned now, would address the safety issues, Cannell said. The project would be cut in two, with one round reconstructing the area from the intersection with Route 202/4 north to Page Road, and another taking care of the section from the Westbrook town line north about three miles. In all, 8.28 miles of the 10-mile road would be reconstructed.

Once engineering and design is complete, and land acquired to adequately widen the road, likely to 34-36 feet, the real work can begin, said Cannell. Realistically, construction could begin in 2012 on one piece of the road, then on the second piece sometime in 2014-15.

Councilor John MacKinnon objected to having the project split. He saw a scenario in which one piece is completed “and we fall off the radar screen again. You don’t really gain much by doing a portion of it, I don’t think.”

While 2015 seems like a long way off, the reality of the situation is that the River Road project is moving in the right direction, Cannell said.

“We met last time and we had nothing,” he said. “We meet this time, and we have $1 million for design work.”

But that didn’t hold much water for Page, who has watched countless cars go off the road near her house.

“I don’t know,” she said after the meeting. “It might get done, it might not get done.”

Cheryl Page, a Windham resident who lives on River Road, hands a petition with 800 names to Department of Transportation officials Chris Mann and John Cannell. The petition asks that reconstruction of the dilapidated road begin as soon as possible. (Staff photo by Ben Bragdon)