The work to transform the grassy area in Bangor’s Pickering Square has been delayed by months.
When crews began construction this past July to add improved walkways, lighting, landscaping and more, the project was expected to be finished by Halloween.
Over the past several months, crews tore up the site, put up a temporary fence around the area and added some infrastructure for utilities like lighting and storm drains. Then, work stalled when supply chain issues delayed the delivery of necessary equipment, according to Jeff Davis, Bangor’s interim city engineer.
For example, the city just received the bases needed to put up lamp posts in the area, which will happen in the coming days, Davis said.
“We’re certainly behind schedule on this one,” Davis said. “It’s not fun to see an empty, torn up site for months and months at a time.”
Now, Davis estimates the project won’t be completed until late June or early July 2025.
City leaders considered the project to be the finishing touch on a years-long endeavor to transform the corner of downtown, which previously hosted everything from a market to a parking lot. In recent years, the city added a transit hub, moved the vehicle entrance to the parking garage and replaced the footbridge across the Kenduskeag Stream.
The final plan for the site included adding a sidewalk with inground blue LED lighting around the perimeter of the triangular area while maintaining a grassy space in the center with other vegetation scattered throughout.
The area is also slated to receive public art displays near Broad Street, wayfinding signs near the pedestrian entrance to the parking garage and covered swinging benches.
“It was just a wasted space before,” Davis said. “People weren’t using it.”
Crews aim to finish adding lighting features and pavers before the snow flies, Davis said. The fence around the construction site will also be moved slightly to allow pedestrians to better navigate the area with snow and ice.
Plantings and finishing touches like art displays, however, will need to wait until the spring, Davis said. If crews planted things now, he said, they wouldn’t have enough time to get established before the ground freezes.
Once the project is complete, Davis said he hopes the improved landscaping and new features, like the swinging benches, will draw residents and visitors to the area that was largely unused and overlooked previously.
“I’m sorry it’s taking so long and I feel horrible it’s not done yet,” Davis said. “I was hoping it would be done by now and people could enjoy it this winter. I guess we’ll just have to wait until next year.”