By next spring, drivers in Sanford will be able to get there from here in a “roundabout” fashion.
“The roundabout at the intersection of routes 4 and 109 is essentially under construction,” Sanford Town Manager Mark Green said during the Sept. 2 town council meeting.

The project, aimed to relieve a rise in traffic due to the Wal-Mart/Lowe’s development in south Sanford, was taken over by the town last year.

“One of the agreements made when we were going through approval process is they [Great Island Development] would begin the design and once all permits were in place, the responsibility would be transferred to Sanford and the Maine Department of Transportation,” Green said during a town council meeting last August.

The cost of transforming the intersection from a four-way stoplight-regulated intersection to a roundabout is projected to be $2.82 million.

The town received a check from Great Island Development in July for $546,000, $5,400 shy of the original amount of $600,000. Great Island Development, in an agreement with Sanford, used the $5,400 to fund engineering of the roundabout.

R.J. Grondin and Sons, based in Gorham, was awarded the contract and will begin construction at the intersection later this month with a projected completion date in May 2009, Public Works Director Charlie Andreson said.

He said drainage work will be part of the first phase. Phase two includes excavation and placement of new drainage, which he estimated will take between six and eight weeks to complete. Curbs and sidewalks should be completed by October and by early to mid-November, lighting and a basecoat of pavement will be in place, Andreson said.

He said striping would be added by mid-to-late November before operations are “buttoned up” for the winter. Work will resume around April with final paving.

“They will be going at it fast and furious,” Andreson said.

He said there will be “some inconvenience to the motoring public,” but said R.J. Grondin and Sons will attempt to keep a two-way flow of traffic throughout construction.

“Grondin is a good contractor. He’s done projects of this magnitude before and he has a good reputation,” Andreson said. “Historically, he’s responded to any complaints very quickly.”

The former Hawthorne School on the northwest corner of the intersection was demolished earlier this year to make way for the roundabout. R.J. Grondin and Sons is leasing the vacant lot from the town of Sanford for $100 per month in order to place a trailer on the lot to serve as an office during construction.

Al Godfrey of Terra Magna Services, Inc. based in Gardiner, presented information about modern roundabouts last fall.

He said the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) conducted a work plan of “signalized” intersection improvements including the addition of left turn lanes and the expansion of merge lanes.
He said subsequent studies showed lane additions at the signaled intersection would have provided short-term relief for the high-volume intersection, but said expected growth in south Sanford was predicted overwhelm the intersection again in a few years.

An MDOT study conducted in 2005 showed the average traffic volume on the north leg of Route 4 moved 10,090 vehicles while the Route 109 leg averaged 18,940 cars daily.

Godfrey said the projected traffic in the year 2023 indicated an average of 12,750 traveling north through the intersection, 27,900 west of Route 4 and 15,460 to the south 109.

He said based on accident records for 2004 to 2006, 32 collisions occurred.

Senior Highway Engineer Troy Pankratz of Ourston Roundabout Engineering based in Madison, Wisc., said modern roundabouts do not require a lane change within the circle.

He also said entering vehicles yield to traffic already in the circle and there is a continuous flow of traffic.

He said the roundabout would have a lifespan of about 20 years, at which time it could be upgraded with more lanes.

Andreson said the town opted for the roundabout because it will serve its purpose for a long time and can be expanded as additional growth in Sanford boosts the traffic.

In addition to the roundabout construction, the town is also going to begin repaving Twombley Road from Old Mill Road to the North Berwick town line.

“That was in the capital improvement plan,” Andreson said. “It’s in desperate need of work.”

He said drainage and tree work has already begun and the basecoat should be down before winter.

Green said some residents may try to use Twombley Road as a way around the roundabout construction, but Andreson said sections of Twombley may be closed off during construction.

Courtesy: Sanford - Springvale Register - www.intheregister.com
Article by Renee Worthing
Staff Writer