Wiscasset bypass scuttled by eagle nest

[Steve Smith]

That's the headline on the Dec. 9th edition of The Coastal Journal out of Bath, Maine. Actually the nest doesn't scuttle the bypass, but may alter part of the route, if it ever gets built. Ironically, the nest isn't actually being used by the eagles to reproduce. The URL to the on-line version is:

http://www.coastaljournal.com/website/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2161:bypass-scuttled-by-eagle-nest&catid=58:regional-news&Itemid=100070

[Pete "Cosmo" Barrington]

I have to wonder,...
did anyone ever consider a pedestrian UNDERPASS? That is, instead of a bridge over the road, a tunnel UNDER the street? Such a thing would even be more easily made wheelchair friendly as the clearance necessary for people is much shorter than that of a good sized truck.
"Just sayin'."

[Galo J. Hernandez 3rd]

or you could buy Reds Eats  and relocate it to a different plot of land, because the lay of the land, a pedestrian over pass would have to start a block away,up hill in order to be ADA compliant,even though the present side walks are not compliant! and besides trucks and school buses still have to come to a full stop for the grade crossing and to dive the roadway deep enough to clear the height of tall trailer trucks would put the roadway, way below the river water table on the east end! Gman.

[James Patten]

I think Pete was saying to put the pedestrians under the highway, not the highway under the peds.

[Mike the Choochoo Nix]

Here in Minnesota there was an Eagles nest in the way of a new Walmart. You can't have an ugly tree in the middle of a beautiful Walmart parking lot, so the "stump jumping" developer "accidentally" cut  it down. "So Sorry"

Mike Nix

[Stewart "Start" Rhine]

Eagles are rather common in Maine so there may be a problem with any bypass route that goes through extensive woodlands.  No one seems to know what will happen next but it is definately a setback for the project.   

[Pete "Cosmo" Barrington]

Yes, I was indeed talking about going under the road with a pedestrian tunnel.

[Stephen Hussar]

Yes, I was indeed talking about going under the road with a pedestrian tunnel.

I like the way you think, Pete!

[Pete "Cosmo" Barrington]

Yes, I was indeed talking about going under the road with a pedestrian tunnel.

I like the way you think, Pete!

Thanks Steve! Great pics from Saturday, btw, I dunno' how I missed seeing you there. 

[Wayne Laepple]

The more I read about the proposed by-pass, the more I like Gordon's idea of a whole new route cross country from I-295 to the Damariscotta area. But of course, if the Maine DOT bureaucracy is anything at all like Pennsylvania's, the idea that a mere citizen could suggest something to the all-knowing engineers is a non-starter.

[Mike Fox]

That spur from 295 would be great, if they built an off ramp for us at 218 or West Alna Road. But they have been planning this for 25 years. I guess when they finally got out of their office and did a site review, someone looked up. They should just adjust the road accordingly, and put that nest in the middle of the rotary they plan.

[Wayne Laepple]

That's the problem -- they've been planning for 25 years, with little regard for the changes that have occurred since they started. It's the same way in my corner of the world. The second half of a proposed bypass has been in the works for close to 30 years, and every time they start crunching the numbers, the cost goes up $25 million. Last I knew, it was going to cost $460 million to build 13 miles of road. That's over $35 million per mile! Outrageous!

[James Patten]

Actually the Wiscasset Bypass has been proposed for the last 50+ years, since the 1950s when the State rebuilt the road away from the town centers (this is when Newcastle/Damariscotta and Waldoboro got their bypass).

Personally I think the best idea for a bypass is southerly, turning the other direction on Davis Island and touching down on Westport Island, then recrossing further down - the high bridge that you see going to Westport further down the river was supposedly built with a Rt 1 bypass in mind.  But that's off the table - somehow Westport had the clout to be eliminated early on in this round from consideration.

[Gordon Cook]

Maybe it's time to buy out Red's and move it somewhere else? That would be a lot cheaper than the bypass proposal.

Unless, of course, people LIKE to stand in line next to traffic....

[Mike Fox]

Lets move Reds Eats to Alna Center