LINCOLN, Maine — An Old Town engineering firm has begun preliminary work on a $1.8 million widening of West Broadway that will effectively free nearly 254 acres for business development along that road, officials said Friday.
James W. Sewall Co., which has offices in Old Town and Caribou, will handle the design and engineering of a center turning lane from the Hannaford Supermarket lot to Penobscot Valley Avenue, Town Manager Ron Weatherbee said. It covers about a mile of West Broadway, which is one of the town’s main business arteries.
The town council voted 7-0 on Monday to authorize Weatherbee to enter into a contract for the work. The Maine Department of Transportation, which is partnering with the town on the project, selected Sewall for the job.
Neither the scope nor final cost of the project has been set, Weatherbee said. He expects to have the contract ready for the council by its Feb. 9 meeting.
The project “is something that the town needs to do to move forward and these are the first steps,” council Chairman Steve Clay said Friday.
Maine DOT spokesman Ted Talbot could not be reached for comment on Friday.
Town leaders hope to use tax-increment financing money and road impact fees levied to businesses that would move onto the road to pay $1.2 million. The DOT will pay $600,000. The project budget will have no affect on the town’s property tax rate, officials said.
The project will broaden Lincoln’s appeal as a service hub and improve road safety. It will also significantly lessen road impact fees businesses must pay to move onto West Broadway by making room for increased traffic.
The impact fees, town officials said, have been a major impediment to further growth along West Broadway and have effectively scared off some business investment in Lincoln.
About a half-dozen light manufacturing or retail businesses have inquired about buying land on West Broadway over the last five years, the town’s Economic Development Director Ruth Birtz said. They walked away due to a state law that requires businesses that would draw 100 or more vehicles per hour to build a turning or a center lane onto West Broadway.
The businesses found the expense prohibitive, she has said.
Town leaders said they believe the work will be complete by fall 2015. It is part of town officials’ comprehensive plan to enhance the town’s economy.
The other aspects of the plan include using grant and TIF funds to add wastewater services to almost a half mile of River Road, the town artery that connects to Interstate 95, create an industrial park near the town airport, and connect town businesses and residents to a natural-gas supply line that runs from the I-95 area along West Broadway to the Lincoln Paper and Tissue LLC mill on Katahdin Avenue.