AUGUSTA — A sign outside Sam MacMaster’s store on Mount Vernon Avenue has been advertising a “pre-road destruction” sale.
In mid-July, the state will begin rebuilding the potholed main thoroughfare between Augusta’s downtown and the northwest part of the city. The project will cost $4.3 million and it’ll be the culmination of years of work on the road, which was resurfaced partially last year after officials feared that much of the pavement would crumble by this summer.
Still, business owners on the road are concerned, and one has closed his shop. MacMaster, owner of Shop From Home Flooring, said while many of his customers are loyal and he can take flooring samples to their homes, the construction could hurt his bottom line. Just before noon one day last week, he said, six of his 12 customers that day had stopped in while passing by.
“You’re not going to see that in the future, so it’ll be a little rough,” MacMaster said.
The project will add utility improvements and new sidewalks while changing traffic flow through Augusta’s core, allowing only one-way northbound traffic on part of Mount Vernon Avenue for three months. A detour will let people leaving The Marketplace to make a left turn onto Townsend Road to reach Northern Avenue and the city’s south and east sides.
Maine Department of Transportation spokesman Ted Talbot said Pratt & Sons Inc., a Minot contractor, has been selected to do the work. The project initially was expected to begin in June, but the projected start date is now July 13, starting with drainage and signage work, with the detour coming later. Once that begins, Talbot said, most work will be completed within three months, then work will shut down for the winter, with cleanup and striping work potentially lasting until June 2016.
Tyler Angell, the owner of Smiley’s Ice Cream, said in April that the project was one of the reasons for the closing of his Mount Vernon Avenue location, but he isn’t ruling out reopening somewhere in Augusta in the future.
Lou Craig, owner of College Carryout, said his convenience store lost 25 percent of its summer business in 2010, when the road was tied up as part of a sewer project.
Craig said while the project is needed and will improve the area around his business in the long term, it’s “always nerve-wracking” staring down a large construction project.
“People are creatures of habit, you know; and when you have projects like this, they tend to have new habits,” Craig said.
However, Talbot said “all businesses will be open and accessible,” adding that the contractor and the department will have “a constant presence” on the site to monitor problems and respond accordingly.
City Manager William Bridgeo said the department has been responsive to Augusta’s needs.
“I understand everybody’s eager to get this thing going. Me too,” Bridgeo said. “We’ve been waiting 20 years, but I’ve got every confidence that they’re lining their ducks up in a row.”
Michael Shepherd — 370-7652
Twitter: @mikeshepherdme
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.