2.22.2004 – After nearly three years of planning, work on a new parallel access road designed to ease Wilson Street traffic will soon begin. H.E. Sargent Inc. of Stillwater was awarded the job of constructing the road for nearly $3 million Thursday during a special Brewer City Council  meeting.

“We hope to begin construction immediately,” said City Manager Steve Bost. “This is a great day for the city of Brewer. We’ve been waiting a long time for this project to come to fruition.”

Seven days after Sargent signs the contract, work can begin.

“The intent is to have this done by mid-October,” said city engineer Frank Higgins, who praised Sargent for prior work in Brewer.

The project includes 1.6 miles of road and a new water transmission line that runs parallel to Wilson Street between Parkway South and Whiting Hill at the eastern end of Wilson. The new water transmission line starts at the Whiting Hill Standpipe.

The majority of the $2.98 million needed to build the road has been on hand since 2001, when the city obtained a $2.95 million bond to finance the road and several other municipal projects, including the new public works complex on Green Point Road.

Due to the passage of time, unanticipated legal and mitigation costs and the need to incorporate signals, the anticipated total cost of the Parallel Road project will exceed the original amount by $418,500.

Because of this, the city will issue bonds totaling $381,000, and the remaining $37,500 will come from Eastern Maine Healthcare  for the road to cross its property and provide the facility additional access.

The total cost of the EMH extension is $287,000.

Capital improvement and impact fees for the Wilson Street corridor also will help pay for the road.

City officials received a wetlands alteration permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in November 2003 that allows Brewer to fill in approximately 5.1 acres of wetlands at the site in exchange for preserving 71.3 acres located on the north side of Wiswell Road.

At the February council meeting, the board accepted several land deeds for construction and also handed over two city-owned properties for the project.

No decision has been made on a name for the road.

A copyright article from the Bangor Daily News by Nok-Noi Hauger:Friday, February 20, 2004.