Gorham voters approved the Main Street Construction Project in a November 3, 2015 referendum, but Town Manager David Cole said, “It is possible, but unlikely the project will take place this construction season.” The reason is that the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) received only one bid for the project and it was well over the amount budgeted.
Cole stated this is a complicated project involving three separate entities. Sharing the total cost are the Town of Gorham, Portland Water District and MDOT. Gorham voters approved a bond in the amount of $600,000 for Gorham’s share. Portland Water District (PWD) will contribute $600,000 and MDOT will pick up the balance of the projected $2.2 million total cost. The one bid received is in the $4 million range, making it $1.7 million over the budgeted funds.
There are a few ways to lower the cost. The present bid includes working at night. While this would be less disruptive to the traffic flow, it is more costly. The amount of night work could be minimized to reduce costs. Additionally, the Town had originally considered installing five concrete conduits with the hope of utilizing them for underground utilities in the future. The conduit option was removed and not included in the most recent bid.
Gorham’s share of the project cannot be increased without another referendum. MDOT and PWD can increase their share if they choose to and the funds are available. If the project does not go forward this construction season, the hope is that new bids would go out from MDOT this December or January. Bidding projects at that time of the year usually result in lower bids.
Once the project does begin, Main Street construction will begin at Gray Road through the village down to Cressey Road. The scope of the work includes rubblization which is the process of fracturing existing concrete pavement into pieces for direct overlay. PWD will replace the 100-year-old water main and storm drainage will be enhanced. This work is necessary because the original surface was a concrete slab that was breached in 1987 when a sewer line was installed and the trench where the sewer line was installed is sinking.