Camden suggests slowing design review of Route 1 North rebuild by a month
CAMDEN — Acting on the direction of the Camden Select Board, Town Manager Audra Caler-Bell will be asking the Maine Department of Transportation to ease up on its anticipated public hearing schedule so the public can take a thorough look at proposed overhaul plans of a Route 1 section close to the Lincolnville town line.
The DOT had anticipated presenting its design for the $7-$8 million Route 1 North project close to Sept. 24, with a public hearing on the project in early October.
But, the Select Board unanimously agreed Sept. 5, at a regularly scheduled meeting, to ask the DOT to submit its engineering plans for the 1.54-mile section of the state highway in September. That would be followed by a meeting with a small group of Camden representatives.
After that, the town suggests that the DOT then schedules a larger open house meeting and public hearing for October and November, respectively.
The decision to slow the process followed a conversation Tuesday evening amongst the board and the Route 1 North Advisory Committee. All involved in the discussion agreed that more time was needed to fully digest what the DOT might produce for the highway.
The rebuild, which includes the highway as well as two bridges, was expected to begin in 2017, but has been pushed forward. The DOT’s Work Plan outlines the project as beginning .56 miles north of the Sagamore Farm Road, and continuing for 1.54 miles to the Lincolnville town line. It includes a seven-foot raise of the Spring Brook Hill bridge, where vehicle crashes have been frequent, especially during the winter. According to DOT meeting minutes, there were 16 crashes alone in that section of the road in two years.
The Camden Route 1 North project includes reconfiguring slopes and roadbed, clearing trees so sun can dry the highway in the winter, and creating an 11-foot travel lane with four to five-foot-wide paved shoulders on either side. The DOT, acting as the State of Maine, owns four rods — or 66 feet — of highway width as it passes through communities.
The stretch of highway passes through Camden residential and mixed-use zones, dotted with homes, a few farms, lodging establishments, and parts of the Camden Hills State Park. The 100-mile stretch of Route 1 through the Midcoast has been cited by the Federal Highway Administration in the Gateway One Corridor Plan of 2011.
The DOT’s steps, as of early last summer, were to assign valuations to properties that abut the highway, identify rights-of-ways, titles, and determine how to negotiate with landowners about either outright compensation for highway construction, or temporary construction compensation.
At a May 16 Camden Select Board meeting, DOT representatives talked with the town about the project, and citizens expressed concerns that homeowners still needed clarification about what would happen to their road-front properties.
In June, after a long discussion with Camden residents, the DOT agreed to hold another open house meeting this fall with residents, with more detailed plans in hand.
But the plans have yet to materialize, and residents are concerned about the amount of excavation alongside the highway and on private property to accomplish the DOT’s goal of improving drainage along that Route 1 section. They want to know which trees are designated to come down, what kind of utility poles will be used, and where they will be placed.
At the Sept. 5 meeting, the Route 1 North Advisory Committee had presented their position statement to the Select Board. The committee consists of Tony Grassi, chairman; Jenny Simon, vice chairman; Richard Bernhard; Nancy Caudle-Johnson, arborist; as well as Jane Lafleur, Beedy Parker and Geoff Scott. They wrote:
“We believe the Town of Camden, through its Select Board, should aggressively advocate with the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) for a plan for Route 1 north of the village (specifically the section of Route 1 between Camden Hills State Park and the Lincolnville town line) that improves this section of the road while also preserving its scenic and rural character in accordance with the Town of Camden’s Comprehensive Plan (June, 2017).
“To date, we have found MDOT to be significantly unresponsive to the Town’s proposals, and those of individual landowners, with respect to this project.
“We believe the Town’s and MDOT’s objectives for this section of road can both be achieved, and would cite the MDOT projects on Route1/High Street in 2005-6 and the recently completed Bakery Bridge project on Washington Street as examples in which both the Town’s and the MDOT’s objectives were achieved. We believe there is a final design plan that can address drainage and safety issues, while maintaining the character of the road that is so important to the economic vitality of the town and region as well the quality of life here.
“Specifically, we continue to propose the following modifications to the current plan:
“1. Improve drainage primarily by subsurface means, dramatically reducing the need for extensive open ditches and guardrails along the road;
“2. Protect roadside trees and the canopy they provide to the maximum extent possible;
“3. Create shoulder widths of 4 feet to accommodate bike traffic, but incorporating variability (up and down) throughout the one and one-half mile length so as to allow preservation of landscape features;
“4. Minimize road straightening and leveling so as to reflect the rolling character of the landscape; and
“5. Utilize clear zone exemptions where necessary to avoid or minimize the removal of trees and stonewalls. In developing and agreeing on the reconstruction of High Street in 2005-2006, the Town and the MDOT entered into a Memorandum of Understanding before the Town would agree to let that project move ahead.
“We believe a similar agreement should be constructed for the Route 1 North section, ensuring agreement on the reconstruction plan prior to its being formally adopted by MDOT and construction beginning.
“The preambles in that agreement cite, among other things: the application of ‘context sensitive designs’; the need for ‘substantial consensus from many parties’; the need to respect ‘safety…and economic development’ while identifying ‘opportunities for scenic, aesthetic and community enhancement’; and the need to utilize and communicate to the public the use of ‘design exceptions and techniques.
“In order to constructively advance the project at this point, we recommend a meeting of MDOT and representatives of the Select Board of Camden and representatives of its Route 1 North Committee to clarify and assert the position of the Town.”
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Editorial Director Lynda Clancy can be reached at lyndaclancy@penbaypilot.com; 706-6657
