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Links to Newspaper Articles. (For articles prior to 2007 see "Links to Articles (old)".) 9 August 2009. "Town inches toward cure for backups" by Beth Quimby in the Maine Sunday Telegram Excerpts from the article.... "...The state Department of Transportation is putting the final touches on its application to the Army Corps of Engineers for permits to build a bypass around the village. A decision is expected this fall. It is the furthest that any effort to solve the problem has gotten.... But the public is far from sold on the bypass. Many say that the traffic is only a seasonal phenomenon and that routing it away from the village would hurt business or take too big an environmental toll.... Once a route is permitted, it will be up to the state to find the $85 million it is expected to cost to build the bypass. Audibert said the Department of Transportation is committed to seeing the process through as quickly as possible because as many as 100 properties could be taken by eminent domain if the project goes ahead, making them virtually impossible to sell beforehand...." 2 July 2009. "Wiscasset Traffic Information System On Rt. 1" in the Lincoln County News. The article begins.... As part
of its traveler information plan, the Maine Dept. of Transportation
(MaineDOT) will be pre-alerting motorists to major congestion on
Route 1 in Wiscasset as of July 1. The pilot program was tested
late last summer and fall, and will be permanently implemented this
summer through mid-October. 19 May 2009. "Time Limit may be set for acquiring land for bypass" by Paula Gibbs, Editor, Wiscasset Newspaper. Excerpt from the article.... The bill would change the provisions in the law regarding the acquisition of property by MDOT in cases where an Environmental Impact Statement is required in connection with permitting under the National Environmental Protection Act for the location of a new bypass. The MDOT would have two years from the time the LEDPA is issued to buy property; this could be extended for up to two years by the Joint Standing Committee on Transportation if no money is available or if state or federal regulations "preclude the Department from acquiring real property." 19 February 2009. "Corps asks for more study of bypass options" by Jo Cameron in the Wiscasset Newspaper. The article begins... It appears from a February 10 meeting of state officials that more work needs to be done on the proposed Wiscasset bypass route options. The meeting included representatives from the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 17 December 2008. "Bypass Group Ends Task With Rt. 218 Compromise" by Greg Foster in the Lincoln County News. The article begins.... The
Midcoast Bypass Task Force has wrapped up months of meetings on
aspects of the proposed Rt. 1 bypass with an innovative solution
for a Rt. 218 connector road to a full interchange at Rt. 27. 17 December 2008. "State seeks federal OK for proposed Wiscasset bypass" by Seth Koenig in the Times Record. The article begins.... WISCASSET
— State transportation officials have submitted their report on
a proposed Route 1 bypass in Wiscasset to the Army Corps of Engineers.
They hope their preferred path will get its final stamp of approval
during the first half of 2009. 24 September 2008. Lincoln County News article about 18 September Task Force meeting about ByPass interchanges with Routes 27 or 218. "DOT Open to Rt. 27 Full Interchange Plan" by Greg Foster in the Lincoln County News. The article begins.... Discussion
opened up last Thursday to the prospect of a full interchange on
Rt. 27 (Gardiner Road) in Wiscasset for the proposed Rt. 1 bypass
but hopes dimmed for one on Rt. 218 (Alna Road). 3 September 2008. "County Board Approves MDOT Travel Advisory Pilot" by Greg Foster in the Wiscasset Newspaper . Excerpts from the article.... Lincoln County commissioners agreed to a memorandum of understanding Tuesday with the state Dept. of Transportation for a real-time traveler advisory for traffic backups along Rt. 1 in Wiscasset. The MDOT-proposed pilot project for this week through Columbus Day is to see what effect advisory signage notifying travelers on I-295 north of mitigating traffic congestion in Wiscasset along Rt. 1.... 2 September 2008. "Music helps spread word about alternative energy" by George Chappell in the Bangor Daily News. Excerpts from the article... UNION, Maine — Organizers of the first Labor Day forum on alternative energy used music and speeches to spread the word on the need to find a new source of heat besides oil. Rich Simon, owner of a hardwood lumber business in Washington; his wife, Susan Bickford; and local builder Ray Montana pulled together 10 bands and individual entertainers from 1 to 9 p.m. Saturday to present a forum for ideas for change.... Simon believes that the state’s proposal to build a Route 1 bypass in Wiscasset is wrong-headed because it’s continuing to encourage use of vehicles. Instead, that money could be funneled into alternative energy. If people drove fewer hours in their cars, the demand for the bypass would be reduced, he said. 28 August 2008. "Wiscasset Traffic Signs to Go Up" by Carol Morris (MDOT) in the Wiscasset Newspaper. (headlined "New Signage to alert motorists on I-295 of Wiscasset congestion" in the Lincoln Count News.) The article begins... As part of its traveler information plan, the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) will be pre-alerting motorists to certain congestion hot spots throughout the state—and Route 1 in Wiscasset is first on the list. Starting this Labor Day weekend, when a major traffic backup occurs on Route 1 in Wiscasset, the Wiscasset Police Department will alert MDOT to activate the changeable message sign in the northbound lane of I-295 just before the Brunswick/Bath exit. The sign will flash the message "Traffic Delay Wiscasset" for as long as the traffic is backed up. The message will be triggered only by a major delay, which will be defined as traffic that is backed up from Wiscasset village to the Wiscasset Ford dealership on Route 1.... [See 3 Sept 2008 Letter to the Editor of the Lincoln County News about the Smart Sign: "Beginning of Sensible Management") 22 August 2008. Letter to the Editor of the Times Record and Lincoln County News and Wiscasset News: "Scrap the Bypass" by Morrison Bonpasse, R.O.A.D. Co-Chair. The letter begins... The concern expressed by Kat Fuller of the Maine Department of Transportation ("A status report on the Wiscasset bypass project," commentary, Aug. 15) for the uncertainties thrust upon Wiscasset and Edgecomb property owners along the proposed Wiscasset bypass routes could best be resolved by the immediate abandonment of the project. 14 August 2008. "Gas prices driving motorists off road, especially in Maine" in Portland Press Herald Excerpts from the article.... "The state saw a 7 percent drop in June, the second-largest drop in the nation. The 4.7 percent decline nationally was the biggest monthly driving drop in a downward trend that began in November, the Federal Highway Administration said Wednesday.... The Maine Turnpike Authority said the number of vehicles on that highway was down 4.1 percent in June from the same month a year earlier and down 2.7 percent in July. For the year, traffic is off 1.5 percent, turnpike authority spokesman Dan Paradee said...." [There are no data for the Wiscasset section of Route 1, as the MDOT has not yet installed permanent traffic counters.] 14 August 2008. "A MaineDOT letter to the Community: The Wiscasset Bypass" by Kat Fuller, Chief Planner, MaineDOT. Published in the Lincoln County News and Wiscasset Newspaper and Times Record, the letter begins, "It was suggested by a member of the public at a recent Midcoast Bypass Task Force meeting that some confusion exists regarding trhe status of the proposed Wiscsset Bypass routes." 24 July 2008. "MDOT unveils Wiscasset traffic solutions" by Bob Kalish in the Times Record. The article begins.... EDGECOMB — The Maine Department of Transportation has reviewed possible interim strategies to relieve traffic congestion on Route 1 in Wiscasset and is recommending moving forward with seven of the 10 solutions proposed. 2 July 2008. "Bypass Group Registers 'No Opposition' to Route" by Greg Foster in the Lincoln County News The article begins... "The
Midcoast Bypass Task Force made a surprise move last June 26 with
a unanimous straw vote of 'no strong opposition' to the state Dept.
of Transportation's (DOT) preferred Rt. 1 bypass route." 19 June 2008. "Members of bypass group getting a chance to talk" by Paula Gibbs in the Wiscasset Newspaper. Mostly about the alternatives to a bypass, excerpts from the article.... Noting that any Wiscasset bypass "will not be operational for years to come," MDOT has come up with a number of proposals to address traffic congestion in Wiscasset. Those measures were described in materials handed out at the June 10 meeting. One of the state's ideas is to install an electronic message sign in Edgecomb at the bottom of the hill near Cod Cove to alert people traveling south that traffic is slowed or stopped before the Wiscasset bridge. Because there is a hill before the bridge, motorists sometimes are forced to stop quickly because they do not realize cars are stopped until they get over the top of the hill. This project is funded and is expected to be advertised for bid this month. However, the date that is projected to become operational is not until Labor Day. Another idea is to install cameras to provide web-based traffic information. These would be installed about three miles west and east of downtown Wiscasset to provide good visibility of traffic conditions. The cameras would be monitored by the Lincoln County Communications Center, which will contact the state when to post and when to remove traffic notes on 511, MDOT's telephone and web-based traveler information system. The budget for this is $20,000 and no date has been set yet for activation. Installing a changeable message sign on Interstate 295 northbound, just south of the Brunswick exit, is another proposal. This sign could advise motorists if there are "traffic issues in Wiscasset" which will give travelers the chance to decide if they want to continue on the interstate or take Route 1. The state proposes to install a permanent traffic monitor to keep track of how many cars are traveling on Route 1 in Wiscasset. This would be placed west of the Route 27 intersection. The state plans to review the intersection of Route 1 and Lee Street and Route 1 and the Bradford Road to see if Lee Street and Bradford Road should be realigned so they are directly across from one another. Another intersection the state plans to review is the Route 1-Route 27 intersection in Wiscasset. Whether traffic lights should be installed at this intersection will be under consideration. The state has provided Wiscasset town manger Arthur Faucher with aerial views of the town to enable off-street parking areas to be developed. 11 June 2008. "Preferred Wiscasset Route 1 bypass identified by MDOT" by Rob Kalish in the Times Record. The article begins... EDGECOMB
— About 50 people crowded into the Edgecomb Eddy School on Tuesday
night in the hope of learning what Route 1 bypass route was to be
chosen as the preferred one by the Maine Department of Transportation.
22
May 2008. Wiscasset Town Manager asks for economic impact
analysis for Bypass. "Final
meetings on bypass - maybe," by Paula Gibbs Editor The "preferred route" (or routes) are expected to be announced by the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) at meetings set for June 10 at 5 p.m. at the Edgecomb Eddy School on Route 27, and on June 26 at 6:30 at the 911 Communications Center on Route 1 in Wiscasset. The meetings of the task force are open to the public.
Wiscasset Town Manager Arthur Faucher said he asked MDOT's Kathy
Fuller for help in determining how the losses will affect the town,
not only in properties and buildings removed from the tax rolls,
but also the "social impact assessment." Faucher calculates
about $26 million, which is the value of land and buildings, will
no longer be taxable to the town. At the present tax rate, this
would amount to an actual loss in tax dollars of about $350,000." 31 January 2008. "Bypass Task Force meets; no public notice" by Barbara Martin in The Wiscasset Newspaper. Excerpts from the article... The Midcoast Bypass Task Force met at the Edgecomb Eddy School last week to begin reviewing public comments on the Route 1 bypass Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) with apparently no notice to the public.... [future meetings every two weeks, with topics below] The list of topics is as follows: traffic diversion analysis - Feb. 7 complete traffic diversion- Feb. 21 interchange - March 6 complete interchange - March 20 downtown Village issues - April 3 Englebrekt Road * interim or long-term solutions in Wiscasset Village * substantiated opinions on alternatives* agency comments* individuals' comments,* and new alignment proposals* *Dates to be determined. 9 January 2008. "Commentary - SVCA Asks For Traffic Mitigation Results to Decide Bypass Options " by Honor Fox Sage, President of the Sheepscot Valley Conservation Association, in the Lincoln Count News. Excerpts from the submission.... The SVCA
has consistently supported the no-build option in the Wiscasset
bypass discussions. It has supported this option because it believes
there are no-build - which does not mean "do nothing" - means of
mitigating the acknowledged summertime traffic pressures, and because
building such roads and bridges as have been proposed is, in itself,
always an undesirable undertaking, destroying environmental and
possibly historical assets, taking private property and homes, physically
disrupting and dividing communities, and absorbing many millions
of taxpayer dollars. With all the inevitable negatives, the need
to build must be compelling to justify proceeding with a project....
9 January 2008. "DOT Sifts Bypass Comments, Gateway 1 Gathers Data" by Lee Roberts in the Lincoln County News The article begins.... It will likely be more a year or more before two strands of state work, the first, a cutting edge research project forecasting the likely future of the Midcoast, the second, the penultimate hurdle before the long-discussed Wiscasset bypass goes forward. Since the final Environmental Impact Statement for the Wiscasset bypass project must include responses to every "substantive comment" elicited by the draft statement, the next step toward building a road around Wiscasset village is evaluating 200-plus written comments. After the Environmental Impact Statement is complete, the final task is finding funds for the project, estimated between $68 and $80 million.... 2 January 2008. Op-Ed by R.O.A.D. member, Steve Cartwright, in Bangor Daily News, "The train solution" Excerpts from the Op-Ed..... ...Our Department of Transportation — which seems as addicted to the automobile as the rest of us — has proposed spending nearly $90 million on a bypass of traffic-clogged Wiscasset. This is backward thinking and won’t get us out of the dark ages of pollution and traffic jams. We should be investing millions of dollars in a state-of-the-art passenger and freight rail system. That’s what nearly every other western nation does, and the only excuse we have is that we are hooked on driving a ton of steel around for convenience. Half of Maine’s air pollution is caused by cars.... 26 December. Letter to Editor of Lincoln County News by Donna and Frank Barnako of Wiscasset and Virginia: "State Should 'Do No Harm' in Wiscasset" Excerpts from the letter:... "This letter was written Dec. 18 to Edward Hanscomb, PE, at the Department of Transportation's Bureau of Planning, who is project manager for the Wiscasset Rt. 1 Corridor Study.... Dear Mr. Hanscom: 26 December 2007. Letter to Editor of Lincoln County News by Ray Shadis of Edgecomb: "Washington St. Key to Wiscasset Traffic Flow Plan" The letter begins... Below are my comments regarding the proposed Wiscasset bypass submitted to the Maine Department of Transportation on Dec. 20, and are best reviewed with a map of the village of Wiscasset (downtown) in hand....[ click for Wiscasset Map of Washington Street and vicinity] 26 December 2007.
Letter to Editor of Lincoln County News by Nathan
Nicholls of Waldoboro: "Bypass
Would Only Create More Problems" "To ignore a relatively inexpensive and low impact solution is crazy. If you elevated the highway over a combined rail/pedestrian crossing, you would indeed solve the overwhelming majority of the "congestion" as well as its resultant negative environmental impact. A bypass would not completely eliminate the negative environmental impact of Rte. 1 Wiscasset and it will surely create more. I'm not against
a bypass, I do have a problem with governmental entities with closed
minds...." 26 December 2007. "ROAD Submits Comments and Requests to DOT" in Lincoln County News by Morrison Bonpasse. The "Commentary" begins... The newly formed R.O.A.D. organization (Route One Alternative Decisions) sent to the state Department of Transportation on Friday its formal opposition to the proposed northern bypass routes. In addition, it made three requests to assist in the long term effort to ameliorate the traffic problem in the Wiscasset "SSZ" (Seasonal Slow Zone).... 20 December 2007. "Edgecomb favors Davis Island route" by Barbara Martin, in the Wiscasset Newspaper. The article begins... On Monday, Edgecomb Selectmen signed a joint letter to Edward Hanscom, Project Engineer, for the Wiscasset Route 1 Corridor Study, officially endorsing N8C, one of five proposed routes that have been discussed in the recent flurry of local informational meetings sponsored by the Maine Department of Transportation. 14 December 2007. Friends of Mid-Cosast Maine Provide Comments on DEIS" Inter alia, the group's letter stated... In light of the above criteria and our evaluation of the DEIS, we believe, with some modification, there are two possible routes that have the least impact. These are Route N2/N8c and Route N2/N2h/N2f-1. ... N8C is the only bypass route that would cross over the Sheepscot River to Davis Island. The other four routes would cross at various places on Clark's Point and end on the Edgecomb mainland. The selectmen assert that this bypass route would be best for the town because it "increases public safety, enhances mobility, and provides a net improvement to the environment to the greatest extent possible." The letter lists seven specific reasons that N8C would be best for Edgecomb:
12 December 2007. "Wiscasset Selectmen Determine All Proposed Bypass Routes Unacceptable" by Sherwood Olin, Lincoln County News. The article begins....and with a subsequent excerpt.... Asked by chairman Duane
Goud to pick one proposed bypass route over another last night,
the Wiscasset Board of Selectmen collectively opted for none of
the above. ... 30 October 2007 State gives Wiscasset bypass options by Dennis Hoey in the Press Herald. A bypass around Wiscasset village could cost up to $79 million and take at least another 10 years to build. The Maine Department of Transportation this week released five options for a bypass that would carry traffic around Wiscasset's quaint but congested village district. A description of each route and its potential impact are outlined in the department's Draft Environmental Impact Statement, which is part of the 200-page Wiscasset Route 1 Corridor Study. [Go to Press Herald Archives for full article @$2.00 each.] 24 October 2007. "Bypass Impact Statement - No-Build vs. Five Routes" by Greg Foster in the Lincoln County News Excerpts from the article.... The long-awaited
Draft Environmental Impact Statement, now in circulation, pits five
optional routes for a Rt. 1 bypass in Wiscasset against a no-build
alternative.... 18 October 2007. "Wiscasset bypass study lists 5 routes, but no favorite" by Greg Kalish in the Times Record. The article begins.... "WISCASSET
- The much-anticipated Wiscasset Route 1 Corridor Study Draft
Environmental Impact Statement is in the hands of town
officials, members of the Wiscasset Midcoast Task Force and at the
Wiscasset Public Library." 23 May 2007. "DOT Says Tunnel Bypass to be Considered in EIS" by Greg Foster in the Lincoln County News The article begins.... The Maine Dept. of Transportation (DOT) considers all substantive comments on its Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) about Rt. 1 bypass options on the table, including the tunnel idea proposed recently. At two of
Wiscasset selectmen's meetings, Boothbay resident John Van Orsdell
presented the concept of a tunnel from the end of Pottle Cove Rd.
to a mid-point on Davey Memorial Bridge from Wiscasset to Edgecomb....
3 May 2007. "Can the bypass go under the tracks, above the water, and below the water?" by Paula Gibbs in the Wiscasset Newspaper. This article is about the original proposal by Boothbay Resident John VanOrsdell for a bypass that would connect with the Davey Bridge. 18 April 2007. "Bypass Option Offered as Appealing to Towns" by Greg Foster in the Lincoln County News The article begins.... A Boothbay man is offering an alternative to the three Rt. 1 bypass routes the state Dept. of Transportation (DOT) has on the table, that he argues would appeal to all communities affected. John Van Orsdell, who serves as an alternate on the Boothbay appeals board, presented his plan to Wiscasset selectmen Tuesday, with some favorable reactions from board members. Basically, his plan would include a tunnel from near the shore at the end of Pottle Cove Rd. off Rt. 1 and join Davey Memorial Bridge somewhere near the middle.... 28 February 2007. "From the Legislature - Bill to Expedite Wiscasset Bypass Filed" by State Rep. Bruce MacDonald in the Lincoln County News Excerpts from the article.... I have filed a bill that will require the Dept. of Transportation (DOT), by December of this year, to choose one of the several proposed bypass routes around Wiscasset. The bill further requires that the DOT, at the same time, provide a preliminary project plan with timelines and goals for the completion of the bypass.... [The resolution is LD (Legislative Document) 1847 , which concludes: "This resolve directs the Department of Transportation to complete its examination of alternate routes for the so-called Wiscasset bypass and choose a route. No later than December 15, 2008, the department must submit a report to the Joint Standing Committee on Transportation describing its chosen route and its plan and timetable for construction of that route."]
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