Wiscasset bypass meetings scheduled

from http://www.timesrecord.com/website/main.nsf/news.nsf/0/87544EE5C61BCB6005257383006950AD?Opendocument

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10/29/2007
WISCASSET - The Maine Department of Transportation has scheduled a
series of public meetings to discuss the Draft Environmental Impact
Statement (DEIS) for the Route 1 Corridor study. MDOT officials are
trying to eliciting public comment concerning solutions to the Route 1
traffic congestion through Wiscasset.

The impact statement analyzes the impact of the no-build alternative,
in which no bypass would be built, with five alternative routes that
bypass the downtown village area, taking Route 1 traffic to the north
of Main Street. The 200-page document can be found at www.wiscassetroute1corridor.com
and at town offices in Wiscasset, Edgecomb, Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor,
Newcastle, Alna, Woolwich and Westport and libraries in Wiscasset and
Boothbay Harbor.

The six alternatives have been culled from more than 30 at the
beginning of discussions on a bypass six years ago. The DEIS compares
the five routes against the no-build one in such areas of impact as
culture, environment, business and residence.

The MDOT partnered with the Federal Highway Administration in
preparing the report, the release of which will begin a two-month
public comment period.

"This is the first time the public will have all the facts on all of
the options, including no-build, in front of them," said Dale Doughty,
acting director of MDOT Bureau of Planning. "We now need to hear from
the public on how the DEIS can be improved."

Doughty said that by the end of the public comment period on Dec. 21,
MDOT hopes to have lots of feedback on the DEIS from the region. Based
on the comments and the report, the department will make a decision on
whether a bypass will be built and if so what route will be
recommended.

"We'll make it easy to comment," Doughty said. "We're planning a
series of public meetings rather than one large meeting. People may
speak or write down comments on forms we'll have."

For the first time in Maine, e-mail comments will be part of the mix,
sent through the study's Web site" www.maine.gov/mdot/

Doughty said a final decision recommending an alternative could come
by next summer.

The meeting schedule is as follows:

* Nov. 15, 6 p.m., Boothbay Harbor Town Office.
* Nov. 28, 5:30 p.m. Wiscasset Senior Center (reservations
required, 882-8230).
* Nov. 29, 6 p.m., Edgecomb Town Hall.
* Dec. 1, 10 a.m., Edgecomb Town Hall.
* Dec. 3, 6 p.m., Alna Fire Station.
* Dec. 4, 7 p.m., Wiscasset High School.
* Dec. 6, 6 p.m., Westport Island Town Hall.

-=-=-

Another article was in the Portland Press Herald today (ack - or was
it yesterday?) but right now mainetoday.com is timing out when i
attempt to load the site.

.

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