The much-anticipated Pickering Square transit center in downtown Bangor is slated to open later this fall, according to city engineer John Theriault and bus superintendent Laurie Linscott.
The transportation hub has been a decade in the making. It’ll serve as the hub for the region’s Community Connector bus service and feature a climate-controlled indoor waiting area as well as a covered outdoor waiting area, interactive schedule information kiosks, and public restrooms.
The awarded contract cost more than twice what the city initially anticipated spending on the project due to higher construction material prices and the site’s soil conditions.
So far, workers have paved the surrounding roads, begun rebuilding the sidewalks and are preparing to pave the interior and install windows, Theriault said.
Linscott estimated that it was “80 percent done” and said she had begun placing orders for computers and interior furniture.
Construction has dominated the Pickering Square area as crews work on the new center. Construction must be completed by Dec. 31 per contract stipulations, but both Theriault and Linscott estimated that the hub could open as soon as early November, before cold weather sets in.
Earlier estimates had put the opening at late 2022 or early 2023. Construction began last September.
“Anything before Dec. 31 is a bonus,” Linscott said.
