Now that federal funding is in place for phase one of the long-awaited Gorham bypass, Standish commuters and town officials are eagerly anticipating the changes it will bring to the town and its residents.
Although discussion of a bypass began about 50 years ago, the $15.7 million in federal highway funding received last summer makes it possible to start work on phase one as early as summer 2007.
In this first phase, the road would divert traffic south of the village center, connecting Route 25 at Cressey Road to Route 114 near the intersection with McLellan Road.
Phase two of the bypass project, which is not yet funded, would begin near the intersection of Route 25 and Rust Road, skirt the village to the north, and reconnect with Route 25 at Mosher’s Corner.
Even though the work will take place in Gorham, the project is likely to have major repercussions in Standish and remote towns to the west.
While the study done by the Maine Department of Transportation looked at ways to reduce the congestion in Gorham village, the department’s Director of Communications Herb Thomson said it did not address how it would affect these outlying areas.
But with 37,500 cars traveling through the center of Gorham each day according to a 1999 study, commuters who must make the village a part of their drive look forward to faster, more relaxing travel.
“It can’t happen soon enough,” said Martha Drew, who commutes to her job on Route 1 in Falmouth from her home on Watchic Manor. “I’ve been waiting for this for years. If it could have happened 12 years ago, it would have been great.”
Although Drew has a choice of routes she can take to get to work, she said going through Gorham and Westbrook should be the fastest. But with the traffic in Gorham village, her 25-mile commute takes her 45 minutes.
Kevin Warren, of Steep Falls, is another commuter who says the bypass is long overdue.
“I think it is about 30 years late,” he said. “My father commuted from Standish in the ’60s and it was bad back then.”
Warren, who works in Scarborough, says the traffic’s “not bad” if he leaves for work at his usual time of 5:30 a.m. But if he waits until 6:15 to leave his house, his 35-to-40-minute commute jumps to an hour.
Some Standish commuters find a way around the worst of the Gorham traffic. Susan Denis, of Steep Falls, works in Westbrook, at a job where she is able to set her own hours.
“I’ve set my schedule around the traffic,” she said. “I work until 3 p.m. If I work until 3:30, I have to go home a different route.”
Denis says the Gorham traffic adds 15 to 20 minutes to her commute, making her 20-to-25-minute commute as long as 45 minutes. But that’s when she goes in early and works 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“If you have to work until 4, you might as well skip it because it will add an hour,” Denis said.
Commuters aren’t the only Standish residents who realize the impact the bypass will have. Town officials recognize the potential for growth in the area.
“It will open up communities beyond us and it will make the commute from Standish more attractive,” said Standish Town Manager Gordon Billington.
Billington says the town must study traffic management on Route 25 more closely and request help from the Department of Transportation.
Standish’s Economic Development Committee has been examining the town’s range roads, sometimes called range ways or paper streets, to see if any can be used to prevent a bottleneck in the town on Route 25. Councilor Terry Christy chairs this committee.
“The mission was to look at the traffic situation on Route 25 and going up to (routes) 25 and 35,” Christy said.
The committee also studied the amount of turning traffic along Route 25 and at the intersection of Oak Hill Road and Route 25.
At Tuesday’s council meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. at Standish Town Hall, the committee will be addressing existing traffic problems as well as those anticipated with the creation of the bypass and make some recommendations to the council concerning Route 25, curb cuts and the intersection of Route 25 and Oak Hill Road.
An aerial view of Gorham village shows Maine Department of Transportation
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