BANGOR, Maine — It has been rough going for motorists who have used Maine Avenue regularly for the last couple of years, but a road reconstruction project should smooth things out considerably.
“It’s gotten to be in such bad shape, we may have to do a roadway rehab,” said Art Morgan, Bangor’s director of public services.
Rehab is a bit more than just repaving. It involves grinding off the existing payment anywhere from 2 to 12 inches all the way down to the gravel base and rebuilding it.
The work will include resurfacing and repaving along a 1,125-foot (0.21-mile) section of road from Godfrey Boulevard to Griffin Road as well as another 1,950 feet (0.36 miles) from Godfrey to Vermont Avenue.
Highway crews also will reconstruct the intersection of Godfrey and Maine to convert it into a roundabout like the one now at Maine and Vermont.
“A roundabout has a tighter turning radius to slow traffic down more, and the entrances are controlled by yield signs,” Morgan said of the difference between a roundabout and a rotary. “Rotaries are wider and their entrances are controlled by stop signs.”
In all, the project will cost $1.1 million — $660,000 for the roundabout and $440,000 for the resurfacing — with 80 percent paid for by federal highway funds, 10 percent by the Maine Department of Transportation, and 10 percent by the city of Bangor.
Bangor City Engineer Ted Trembley estimated the project, which will begin in mid- to late July, will take two to three months to complete.
“We’re going to try do do all aspects of the project concurrently, but we’ll be adjusting the work schedule depending on traffic volume as we go,” Morgan said.
As far as the city’s road and public works budget, Morgan said a milder than expected winter in terms of snow and other precipitation have allowed Bangor’s Public Works Department to save a bit of money compared to the previous winter.
“We’re comparable with where we were last year. We haven’t seen as many severe storms, but the additional rain adds up to more ice,” Morgan said. “We’re doing a little bit better on our plowing overtime and only paying salt and sand truck overtime.”
Turning Godfrey and Maine into a roundabout will just become another good reason for me to avoid that section of road.
i dont care what they do, just as long as they fix the section between the bus garage and the airport road.
roundabouts are great. I’ve driven in England and they were everywhere, and in rural areas they were much smaller than the one in Bangor. For the small ones the center is just slightly raised, and large trucks have to drive straight through because the turning radius is so small, but it was nice having so few stop signs and traffic lights.
Thank God they are fixing this section of road!!
“Rotaries are wider and their entrances are controlled by stop signs.”
Really? Come to Disgusta and I’ll show you are two 2-lane ROTARIES which are NOT controlled by stop signs, but by yield signs. You know, the two rated-worst intersections in the state, accident-wise.
The engineer is either misquoted, or hasn’t had a proper education. The MUTCD clearly states that entrances to rotaries are Yield signs, period. Otherwise, why the heck build them when a 4-way stop works better. Like at Griffin and Maine.
I was wondering about that, too. I maybe laboring under old assumptions, but aren’t roundabouts in Old England, not New England? I’ve never seen one in any of the 3 NE states I’ve lived in called that. They are all rotaries with yield signs (to be routinely ignored).
Maybe it’s just terminology, or I’m out of date, but if there’s a stop sign, then neither term would apply.
Modern roundabouts (as opposed to rotaries) are in Gorham, one in Bangor, one in Sanford. Cony Circle in Augusta has been reconfigured to more of a roundabout and accident rates have dropped a lot. There are roundabouts in Morrisville VT, Montpelier VT, and East Barre VT.
Memorial Circle in Augusta is planned for reconfiguration at some point (I think).
Thanx, but that doesn’t explain to me what a “modern roundabout” is; signs, size, # of lanes that David and I are questioning.
Usually just one lane (Cony Circle is an older designed rotary, converted to function more as a modern roundabout, but is a hybrid). The entrances are configured so that traffic must slow down, and the smaller size of the roundabout keeps speeds lower. They usually have a raised center but such that a large truck can let the trailer run onto the center.
I drive tractor-trailers, and they can be negotiated. Speed has to be slow, but then again, that is the whole point.
I forgot another example of a roundabout – at the junction of US 1 and the new border crossing at Calais.
Hmmm. I always thought that a circle, of any size, with traffic coming from many directions and with a stop or yield sign ( to naturally slow traffic), was a rotary. Always used to be. In MA we have as many as 5 three lane roads coming into a circle with plantings in center down to 4 one laners coming into a really tight circle in town (also with plantings and yield signs). They are all called rotaries here.
Roundabout must be some new age terminology for this geezer to just shake his head at…. :)
I’m not finding a definition in the MUTCD for a rotary, just a passing reference to rotaries in the definition for circular intersections. The definition for “roundabout,” however, does state that a yield sign controls entry.
Cony Circle has been reconfigured and accident rates have dropped by quite a lot.
$660, 000 to build a roundabout where none is needed? Are you kidding? One at Westland and Union would be more useful in slowing and directing traffic if you really want to throw away money like that.
put that 66o thousand on ohio st.
you must live on Ohio St, Oh please take care of my neighborhood for i am the only one that matters
Ya same as the people on hammomd st hollerd last year and voila the entire street gets done at least it I don’t live on Howard where they got a rotary and no left turn cause they hollerd
—– Reply message —–
The first cost of any two choices is a poor way to compare. Life-cycle cost is the best (present value of future costs, a.k.a. net present value). Costs to compare include: first cost (design/land/construction), operation and maintenance (electricity, re-striping, etc.), crash reduction, daily delay (what’s your time worth?), daily fuel consumption, pollution (generated), area insurance rates (this costs more where it is less safe to drive). Each of these things, and others, can be estimated for any two choices and everyone near or using the project area will pay some portion of all of these costs
Can someone tell me why Bangor decided to replace this intersection with a roundabout? I’ve never heard anything of the issue before.
It will keep traffic moving. It’s not really a busy intersection.
totoal waste of money
This is a joke the current one is a joke they cant even get around it without driving up on the center its so tight, we have streets in Bangor that need something a lot worse ,of course it would be a shame if public works had to drive on a road with cracks in it ,MUST BE ABOUT TIME TO REPAVE WESTLAND AGAIN, HOW MANY CITY OFFICIALS LIVE ON THAT STREET ANYWAY? ,MEANWHILE OHIO ST. FROM DAVIS ROAD OUT LOOKS LIKE A BOMBING RUN HIT IT, HEY MORGAN WAKE UP !!!!
if you can’t drive around the current one without driving up on the center then you don’t know how to drive. I’ve driven in England and seen lots of round abouts and the one in Bangor is huge for a roundabout. For the small ones in England the center is just slightly raised above the road (and usually a different color/material, maybe brick), and large trucks
have to drive straight through because the turning radius is so small.
Oh well ill just drive straight through next time see what happens pleeese
—– Reply message —–
right Morgan, while they wasted money 2 weeks ago moving snow at night when it was gonna be nothing but 50s the next week
About time on Maine Avenue rehab.
$600,000 for a new roundabout is a humongous waste of funds.
I’d like a rotary at the intersection of Hammond St. and Odlin Road too.
Interesting, since city employees are the primary users of that piece of road. When you’re finished there, how about heading over to Essex Street, between State and Stillwater and fixing that disaster?
Maybe they could spend a few dollars on classes to educate the MAROONS that don’t know how to use a roundabout.
at least 80% of our stoplights with the electric eyes allowing one car to stop the flow of traffic should be blinking reds and yellows at all times except 7 to 8 am and 4 to 6pm. The waste of gas/time stopping traffic to let out one or two cars (many times right turners who will have no, or at most a, 10 to 15 second wait) onto the main road is enormous. People, rise up and take control of the traffic lights, OCCUPY INTERSECTIONS!
By the way, who is in charge of these light controls and what kind of training do they have. Do they have to take a course in How to Avoid the Obvious?
I’m thrilled about the road rehab that Maine Ave is going to get. Everyone who has even driven Maine Ave knows how atrocious that stretch of road is. What I don’t understand is WHY turn Godfrey and Maine into a roundabout? Wouldn’t it be better to simply upgrade the traffic lights that exist there? I know for a fact that the traffic lights there are pretimed and only allow one direction on Godfrey to go at one time. Those traffic lights are more than 20 years old and really need an upgrade to handle traffic at that intersection more effeciently. Upgrading those traffic lights would cost less to do and could make an hazardous intersection less hazardous with a newer traffic signal setup. The city really doesn’t need to another roundabout there.
If you want to see the difference between a traffic circle, a rotary (UK roundabout) and a modern roundabout, search http://www.k-state.edu to see pictures. http://www.fhwa.dot.gov has a video about modern roundabouts that is mostly accurate (http://tinyurl.com/3hjrqus ).