The Maine Department of Transportation presented its plans for the installation of a traffic light and other improvements to the intersection of Libby Ave. and Main St to approximately 20 people, primarily residents of Libby Ave. or side streets off of Libby Ave., at a meeting on April 4.

PACTS (Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation System) makes determinations as to what work needs to be done on local roads and the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) pays for the project and hires contractors to do the work. The project has a cost of $430,000 with $130,000 budgeted for engineering and design and $300,000 for construction.

MDOT has nine possible reasons they use to consider improvements to local roads and the intersection of Libby and Main met three of them, including the volume of traffic between 7:15-8:15 a.m. and 4:30-5:30 p.m. leading to lengthy delays for vehicles attempting to cross or turn onto Rt. 25. Additionally, there have been a number of accidents at this location. The MDOT predicts that in 20 years there will be a half-mile long back up for vehicles waiting to turn left onto Rt. 25 during peak travel times. The MDOT plans to install traffic lights at this intersection and widen shoulders so that vehicles wanting to turn right may be able to go around vehicles waiting for the light to change. Existing curbs and sidewalks will be moved back approximately three feet to provide a 10 foot wide shoulder and crosswalks will be moved back to make them safer.

Numerous residents asked questions and talked about how problematic this intersection is for them. A major concern is vehicles speeding on Libby Ave., which is a connector road for many drivers. Fire Chief Robert Lefebvre asked when the evaluations had been done, noting that during USM’s school year, the traffic on Rt. 25 is much heavier.

MDOT staff could not say whether their traffic evaluations had been done while USM was in session. A question was raised about whether the MDOT had considered a rotary for this location. It had but rotaries cost about $1.5 million and the volume of traffic at this location did not warrant that expense.

The MDOT plans to advertise the project in late 2018 and expects the construction to be done in the summer of 2019. They estimate the project will take two to three months to complete.