By Zack Anchors

Staff Writer

    Several major road improvement projects that the
city of South Portland has mulled over for years may be headed to
Washington, DC for possible funding. City officials are considering
which projects claim the highest priority for the region and which
would be likely to earn earmark funding through Congress’s 2009 federal
transportation legislation.

    South Portland’s list of projects must be submitted
by Nov. 1 of 2008 to the Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation
System (PACTS) so the regional transportation coalition can rank the
regions projects by priority and submit a list of proposals to Maine’s
congressional delegation for potential earmark funding. At the Nov. 13
City Council workshop, Planning Director Tex Haeuser presented four
projects that he and other city staff considered strong candidates for
the list.

    “These are all projects that have some history in the city,” said Haeuser.

    The projects suggested include improvements to the
I-295 exit four area, improvements to roads leading from the Maine Mall
area, building a sound barrier beside residential neighborhoods
abutting I-295, and improving traffic signals in the Meeting House Hill
and eastern Broadway area. Another project the council wants to
consider adding to the list is a two-decade-old proposal to create an
East-West connector between Highland Avenue and Main Street.

    The project that councilors appeared most
enthusiastic about involves creating a southbound on-ramp at I-295’s
exit four. City officials expect the ramp would divert a significant
amount of traffic from using Broadway and Main Street. Among the
traffic diverted would be many of the petroleum tank trucks and other
large vehicles that have been inciting Broadway area residents to
complain of increased noise and traffic. This project is estimated to
cost $3.5 million dollars.

    The project which councilors appeared to agree was
most urgent was also the least costly, estimated to require $720,000.
The project would improve the coordination between 12 traffic signals
in the Broadway, Ocean Street and Cottage Street corridors and improve
traffic flow and public safety at intersections that have produced a
high rate of accidents. Councilor Kay Loring suggested that the council
consider adding the project to the city’s Capital Improvements Projects
budget instead of waiting for possible funding years away.

    A project to erect a sound barrier along the south
side of I-295 between Broadway’s intersection with Main Street and
Dawson Street was estimated to cost $1.7 million. As traffic has
increased on the interstate in recent years the issue of noise
permeating into surrounding neighborhoods has become a larger problem.
Noise levels have previously been measured by the Maine Department of
Transportation and were found to exceed federal noise standards.

    At a council meeting in October, Councilor Ralph
Baxter had brought up the council’s need to discuss the possibility of
once again consider a project to build an East-West connector between
Highland Avenue and Main Street. At the workshop Baxter said the only
reason the project had not gone forward when it was explored in past
years was because the council declined to use eminent domain to seize a
right of way from a property owner.

    “The first meeting I attended on this was 28 years
ago in 1978,” said Baxter. “This project would be a win for everyone...
The only reason I didn’t vote for it before is because I wasn’t willing
to use eminent domain. Now I would, because I think this gentleman is
being ridiculous.”

    Other councilors expressed support for reconsidering
the East-West project again and City Manager Thaddeus Jankowski
suggested the topic be discussed at another city council workshop.
There have been lengthy studies completed by the city exploring the
possibility of an East-West connector, and various routes were drawn
out in detail. Baxter said it was his impression that, besides
obtaining the right-of-way near Wainwright Fields, the project was
ready to move forward.

    The most expensive project considered by the council
would focus on the Maine Mall area and would combine two roads–Rt. 703
and Philbrick Street–and create a bridge over Rt. 703 that would make
it easier for vehicles to leave the mall area. Councilors did not see
this project as a high priority and felt that it would have limited
impact on residents of South Portland. Councilor Claude Morgan said the
difficulty of facing  traffic congestion when leaving the mall is
something people have learned to accept.

    “It’s part of the deal,” Morgan said. “You go there and you get stuck.”

    This project is estimated to cost $7.5 million.

    Jankowski emphasized that it is still very early in
the process of creating a list of projects to be submitted to PACTS for
potential federal earmark funding. He said the council and city staff
will continue to explore the priorities of various projects.