WINDHAM – After years of battling the notoriously rough River Road, Lakes Region commuters will be getting some needed relief as the road connecting North Windham and Westbrook is finally set for reconstruction.

According to state Sen. Bill Diamond, D-Windham, the River Road project has been listed on the Maine Department of Transportation 2012-2013 capital work plan, which was released Wednesday to state legislators. The plan calls for reconstruction of 5.97 miles of the 8.62-mile long road, from its intersection with Route 202 north to Route 302.

According to project manager Ernie Martin, the project, which is receiving $6 million worth of funding, was a result of much work by the area’s legislators, Windham town officials and residents who have been meeting for more than a year on the project.

Cheryl Page, one of the members of the River Road Public Advisory Committee, a group of local residents formed to work with state officials on the project, was ecstatic with the news that the road is receiving funding.

“I think it’s wonderful, absolutely great,” she said. “It’s been an ongoing battle because the road is absolutely horrible and everyone knows it.”

Page lives just off River Road in North Windham and uses it to commute to her job at the Mobil station at the corner of River Road and Route 302. She said customers tell her they seek out alternate routes in order to avoid the crumbling road. Page was so upset at the condition of the road that she circulated a petition, which 800 people signed, and then shipped it off to Department of Transportation headquarters in Augusta.

“Anybody you talk to, if they don’t have to take it, they will not take it,” she said.

Transportation Commissioner David Bernhardt indicated the regional importance of the road in a statement released Wednesday afternoon: “The Windham River Road is an important travel corridor for not only those in Windham, but also for many towns surrounding Windham. I am pleased that we could work together with the town, interested citizens and legislators to make repairing this six-mile section of the River Road a priority. Taking care of our existing roads is extremely important to me and Gov. (Paul) LePage, so I am excited to include Windham River Road in our two-year work plan.”

Regarding the lower section of River Road from Route 202 to the Westbrook line, Martin said the section is slated to receive an overlay this summer to prevent further degradation.

“It will get a maintenance surface treatment this summer to hold it over until we can get there,” he said. “It will preserve what’s there, help smooth it out. It’s a temporary fix until we can reconstruct it.”

Another strong River Road lobbyist, former Windham Councilor Donna Chapman, who lives near the lower section of the road, said she was happy to hear the news that upper River Road will be reconstructed, but expressed worry concerning lack of action on the lower three-mile section.

“We’re not going to make it,” she said. “This end gets the heaviest usage with people cutting down Mallison Falls Road. Over 1,200 people a day use it, so it’s very heavily traveled. I’m glad to hear we’re getting the upper end done, but they need to figure out how to make the lower end last.”

Additional money

River Road isn’t the only local road getting funding. Diamond said the biennial work plan includes $120,000 for rehabilitating Grant’s Bridge on Route 202 near the intersection of Dutton Hill Road. And Route 302 from Boody’s Corner (Route 35 intersection) to the Whites Bridge Road intersection will receive $1.38 million in resurfacing.

However, the Whites Bridge Road/Anglers Road alignment project, which has been discussed as a relief to traffic congestion traveling Route 302 in the summer, did not receive funding.

In Standish, Diamond reports the intersection of Route 35 and Whites Bridge Road will receive $560,000 worth of safety improvements, and a 1.7-mile section of Route 113 will receive $140,000 worth of safety improvements as well.

“I couldn’t be more pleased with the funding,” Diamond said. “Windham alone received a total of $7.5 million for projects, and I think that’s wonderful. It’s significant, and it’s huge news for us. Now, the final piece will be getting the budget passed. But it will get passed. The biggest step was getting it in the work plan.”

Local commuters are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel now that River Road from Route 302 to Route 202 is slated for reconstruction within the next two years. On Wednesday, the Maine Department of Transportation listed the $6 million project in its biennial work plan. (File photo)