HOULTON, Maine — Construction crews have been hard at work in the Shiretown the past few weeks, tearing up sidewalks and laying the groundwork for new traffic lights at two of the town’s busiest intersections.
According to Catherine Rand, project manager for the Maine Department of Transportation, work is proceeding on schedule for the replacement of traffic lights at both the intersection of Military and Court streets and the intersection of Bangor, Kendall and Main streets.
Back in January, 2016, the town of Houlton first learned that MDOT was planning a traffic light replacement project in the Shiretown. At that time, the project was estimated at $400,000.
There are 13 pedestrian poles to be installed as part of this project, Rand stated. Seven of the foundations have been poured, with the remaining six expected to be completed this week.
“There are four mast arms on the project — two for each intersection,” she said. “The concrete foundations for the mast arms are currently being designed by CPM’s subcontractor ‘AD Electric’ and will be installed before the actual mast arms are delivered by truck from Nebraska.”
The conduit for the new wiring is currently being installed. The foundations for the new mast arms must be installed before the sidewalks can be paved .
The project is scheduled to have foundations and sidewalks in place by the end of August.
“There is a huge amount of preparation before the actual upgraded lights can be put into place,” Rand said. “All designs by the company in Nebraska and the foundation designs are reviewed by engineers at MaineDot. Manufacture and delivery are time consuming because each mast arm is designed specifically for the individual traffic requirement.”
She stated the mast arms, pedestrian poles and the changeover from the old equipment to the new will not be complete until the end of October.
“During this changeover, there will be a short period with the lights are out and traffic will be controlled by police,” Rand said. “When everything is in place and working correctly the old equipment will be removed. When this project is complete, Houlton will have new equipment at the intersections with fewer maintenance costs and ADA compliant sidewalks at the intersections.”
