William Clarke Drive (Route 25) in Westbrook’s west end will be widened, with an added westbound lane beginning at Mechanic Street. The intersections at Saco Street and New Gorham Road and Main Street will also be improved under Maine Department of Transportation plans. Westbrook City Administrator Jerre Bryant believes construction will likely begin in 2019.

WESTBROOK — A state highway project estimated to cost $2.3 million is aimed at easing westbound bumper-to-bumper traffic for evening commuters on William Clarke Drive (Route 25) in the city’s west end.

The Maine Department of Transportation announced in January that the 2018-20 work plan includes upgrading the highway from its intersection with Mechanic Street for .028 miles.

Westbrook City Administrator Jerre Bryant said Tuesday that MDOT plans include adding a second westbound lane and improving intersections at Saco Street and New Gorham Road-Main Street. Traffic signals at both intersections will be upgraded.

“It’s two construction seasons away,” Bryant said.

Mayor Michael Sanphy hopes the construction project will help alleviate rush hour woes. “I’m optimistic it will solve some of the congestion,” Sanphy said.

Bryant said the city’s cost for the project would be a required 20 percent share.

Bryant described the Saco Street intersection as a “bottleneck,” with the left travel lane dedicated for a left turn onto Saco Street.

Now, the two westbound lanes are squeezed into one at the Saco Street intersection for commuters who continue traveling on Route 25 towards Gorham.

Bryant believes the state’s plans are to add the second westbound travel lane from Mechanic Street through the two intersections and to a point past the highway’s first intersection with Conant Street. The evening commute will be a “noticeable change,” helping traffic flow, Bryant said.

Two businesses, Sullivan Tire and ConvenientMD Urgent Care – located at the highway’s intersection with Saco Street – are in the work zone.

Bryant said the city’s cost for the project would be a required 20 percent share.

Land acquisition for the widening is not a problem, as the city already controls it,  Bryant said.

According to the MDOT’s work plan, the project is sponsored by Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation System, the federally mandated metropolitan planning agency.

William Clarke Drive through the city underwent a $5.5 million reconstruction several years ago. It opened in the 1970s as Wayside Drive, a bypass of the city’s downtown business district. It was renamed William Clarke Drive in 1994, Linda Gain of the Westbrook Planning Department said Tuesday.

But Bryant said the highway was not finished. “They never completed William Clarke Drive,” Bryant said.

Robert Lowell can be reached at 854-2577 or rlowell@keepmecurrent.com