With the opening of the new Gorham bypass, Don Matthews’ commute on Route 25 through Gorham Village each morning at 7:30 and evening at 5:30 has been about 10 minutes shorter.
“My routine is much easier to deal with coming and going,” said Matthews, who owns Ed’s Batteries in Westbrook and lives on Osborne Road in Gorham.
Although official traffic counts won’t be available until summer, commuters say the bypass that opened Dec. 5 has shortened commute times. However, pedestrians and those who work in Gorham Village say they haven’t noticed much of a decrease at what is considered to be one of the most dangerous intersections in the area.
“The impact is negligible,” said Denis Fontaine, the owner of Accounts Receivable Management of Me, Inc., who has a view of the intersection where routes 114, 202 and 25 converge from his second-floor office at 8 School St.
The Department of Transportation expected the $28 million bypass to divert 7,000 vehicles, including gasoline and oil tankers, from downtown Gorham daily. Without a bypass, about 40,000 cars daily were cutting through Gorham’s downtown intersection, which has a reputation as not pedestrian friendly.
Mark Latti, a spokesman for the Maine Department of Transportation, said official traffic counts would not be available until summer. He said state officials reviewed the bypass after it opened.
“Things seem to be going fine. Traffic is moving as planned,” Latti said Monday.
Gorham Police Chief Ron Shepard said Tuesday the bypass has reduced downtown traffic during both morning and evening commutes. He said village traffic isn’t backed up as much, especially during the evening commute.
“Right now, it seems to have an impact,” Shepard said.
The 3.4-mile bypass sweeps around downtown Gorham. The bypass has roundabout intersections with Route 114 (South Street), Route 202 (Narragansett Street) and Route 25 (Ossipee Trail).
The new route is popular among truckers, according to Felix Sanchez, a Massachusetts trucker who was delivering to a Gorham restaurant Monday. Truck traffic traveling through the intersection of routes 202, 25 and 114 has long been a safety concern in Gorham.
Although he hasn’t had the occasion to travel the bypass yet, Sanchez said it’s a topic among truck drivers.
“It’s a nice trailer friendly road,” Sanchez said the word is among truckers.
Despite the popularity of the new route, pedestrians say traffic remains heavy at the intersection in Gorham Village.
Rebekah Bickford, a doctoral student at University of Southern Maine, walks across the intersection twice a day.
“I haven’t noticed any less congestion,” Bickford said Monday afternoon as she waited for a walk signal at the corner of South and Main streets. “It’s still scary to cross here.”
Bickford has driven on the new bypass and praised it as an alternative route. But, she said, she wishes more people would use it.
Fontaine, who thinks the bypass impact might be more tangible in the summer, said the intersection is still dangerous for pedestrians.
“Everyone says it’s the most dangerous intersection they’ve seen,” Fontaine said.
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