Officials have long discussed building a second bridge over the Kennebec River in Skowhegan to help relieve congestion on the Margaret Chase Smith Bridges, which carry traffic on and over the downtown island. The bridges are shown above in 2022. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel file

SKOWHEGAN — Changing the number of downtown traffic lanes. Improving sidewalks and bicycle lanes. Putting one of the town’s busiest highways on a “road diet.”

And, of course, building a long-discussed second bridge over the Kennebec River in downtown Skowhegan.

Those are among the recommendations of a master plan transportation study on which the Skowhegan Board of Selectmen signed off last week.

What comes next, though, has yet to be determined. The second bridge downtown, characterized as the top priority, would still be years away.

The study, commissioned by the town of Skowhegan and the Maine Department of Transportation as part of the Village Partnership Initiative, or VPI, began in 2022.

The town and Maine DOT split the cost of the report, prepared by the engineering firm Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc., or VHB. The cost was estimated at $160,000, but has not been finalized, according to Paul Merrill, the spokesperson for Maine DOT.

About 50 Maine municipalities have participated in Village or Planning Partnership Initiatives since the program was established in 2022.

“The Village Partnership Initiative provides funding for feasibility studies that identify and conceptualize human-scale improvements in downtowns and villages throughout Maine,” Merrill wrote in an email, though he noted it does not provide or guarantee funding for implementation of the improvements.

The main goal of the VPI study, as stated in the master plan, was to look at ways to improve transportation safety and accessibility that would complement ongoing economic development work.

As part of the VPI study, a 14-member committee of officials, business owners and other community leaders provided feedback. Members of the public also had opportunities to offer input.

Early in the process, officials said they were most focused on other downtown traffic safety improvements, rather than a long-discussed second Kennebec River bridge.

That changed in early 2024.

Flooding after a major storm in December 2023 forced closure of the Margaret Chase Smith Bridges in Skowhegan, above, to nonemergency traffic for nearly two days, giving the idea for a second bridge over the Kennebec River more momentum. A new study says a second bridge should be Skowhegan’s top transportation priority. Jake Freudberg/Morning Sentinel file

Flooding after a major storm in December 2023 forced the closure of the Margaret Chase Smith Bridges to nonemergency traffic for nearly two days, cutting off one side of the town from the other and affecting first responders’ ability to handle emergencies. Out of this, the idea of a second bridge gained momentum.

Maine DOT officials also shared that the Margaret Chase Smith Bridges are due for maintenance in the next decade, which would require the construction of a temporary bridge.

The VPI committee decided then that a second bridge — in downtown Skowhegan, rather than farther upstream or downstream — should be the top priority, because it would guide other decisions.

“This new infrastructure will provide multiple benefits, not only alleviating current congestion but also sparking a wide range of other crucial improvements throughout the community,” the VPI study concluded.

The study further calls a second bridge over the Kennebec River, which has long been discussed and studied, a “catalyst” to foster economic development.

The town first formed a committee in 1997 to study the issue. In 2004, residents supported a new bridge in a nonbinding vote.

In 2020, as part of Maine DOT’s latest involvement before the VPI, several locations for the bridge were proposed. Those proposals were later narrowed to two.

The other of the final two options, farther downstream near the Great Eddy, was ruled out during the VPI study.

“Based on the variety of alternatives explored and the results of the study,” the report says in its executive summary, “it became clear to the Study Team, VPI Committee, Selectboard, and the public that the town needs a second river crossing and the location that provides the most benefits and meets the purpose and need of this study is the Downtown crossing location, in the vicinity of the Route 150/North Avenue and Water Street intersection. “

In March, Skowhegan officials requested that the state DOT move forward with a study of the impacts of that location. Potential areas of impact include homes on the south side of the river and the Veterans Memorial Park on Water Street.

Maine DOT is now seeking a contractor to conduct the study under the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, Merrill said. That study is expected to go through 2026.

State transportation officials have said the construction of the bridge would be funded by state and federal dollars.

Other recommendations in the VPI master plan study include:

• In conjunction with the second Kennebec River bridge, make changes to the downtown rotary; specifically, change Madison Avenue to two-way traffic between Water Street and Commercial Street and reduce Water Street to one lane between Madison Avenue and Commercial Street.

• Improve “active transportation” infrastructure, such as bicycle lanes and sidewalks, in coordination with the master trails plan for Skowhegan.

• Implement a “road diet” — or a reduction of lanes — on Madison Avenue to improve safety and increase mobility.

• Redesign the intersection of Madison Avenue and Jewett Street to accommodate changes in traffic patterns created by a second downtown bridge.

• Create a “gateway” at the intersection of Main Street and Fairview Avenue.

The study further found that Skowhegan’s parking supply — a hot topic among the town’s Planning Board members and other town officials — is more than sufficient.

The report concluded that, if anything, excess parking spaces could be eliminated to accommodate future developments.