ORRINGTON, Maine — If all goes to plan, a developing part of the community will be served with sidewalks and crosswalks as part of the North Orrington Village Plan.
Pedestrian safety along a roughly mile-long stretch of Route 15 — from the Brewer line to Rabbits Run Road — was identified in the village plan as one of the community’s top priorities, Ron Harriman, the town’s economic development consultant, said in a telephone interview the day after Tuesday’s hearing.
To that end, the town is working toward installing sidewalks and crosswalks along that stretch, which includes numerous homes, the Rocky Knoll Country Club, Calvary Chapel, a Gulf gas station and Snows Corner Mobil on the Run, among other businesses, he said.
Planned for the 2016 construction season, the project is expected to cost about $617,000 for construction and $30,000 for engineering, Harriman said.
The bulk of the construction cost, 80 percent, will be covered by a Safe Routes to School grant from the Maine Department of Transportation, he said.
“It was very competitive,” Harriman said of the grant application process. The state received 92 applications and awarded only seven grants, he said.
The local share of the project budget will come from the tax-increment financing program that stems from an Emera Maine substation project in town, he said.
Harriman said that during a public hearing at the town office Tuesday night, several homeowners from the project area expressed concerns about losing use of land in their front yards and what would happen with their mailboxes, among other things.
He said local officials will work to address those concerns as the project moves forward.