The Maine Department of Transportation is planning reconstruction and rehabilitation of Damariscotta’s Main Street (Route 1B) at an undetermined date. The work would begin 0.01 miles east of the road’s intersection with Church Street and continue for 2.25 miles northeast.
According to department spokesperson Paul Merrill, that section of the road was not constructed to modern standards.
“It would be ‘unbuilt’ in DOT-speak,” he said.
A letter to property owners along the road sent March 27 said the department is currently collecting data for the improvements so it “can consider all options and alternatives.”
Specific plans are not available yet because the project is in such an early stage, the letter said.
According to DOT materials, rehabilitation and reconstruction projects such as rebuilding roads are planned “to correct significant deficiencies in a roadway” for various reasons including repair costs and structural capacity.
The department’s work plan lists a scope of work including highway safety and improvements completed through $255,000 of state funding. Route 1B, the bypass of Route 1 which extends from the off ramp into Newcastle to its return ramp in Damariscotta, is a state-owned road.
Merrill said the project design has not begun yet and public participation will begin later in the process. Survey work begins this spring before leaf cover comes in and obscures visibility, he said.
Route 1 reconstruction work is also planned or underway in Waldo and Washington counties, according to this year’s DOT work plan.
