Waterman Drive work to begin soon (Printed July 6, 2007)
Posted by Sentry Editor at 7/12/2007 10:43 AM 
Categories: Zoning, So Po News, Open Space, Knightville Mill Creek
Categories: Zoning, So Po News, Open Space, Knightville Mill Creek
By Amanda Estes
Staff Writer
Once the gateway to South Portland for motorists traveling over the Million Dollar Bridge, Waterman Drive will be reconfigured to fit into the surrounding walkable Knightville neighborhood.
On Monday, the city council, with Jim Soule absent, unanimously awarded a bid for $190,750 to Maietta Construction of Scarborough for phase one of improvements to the Waterman Drive right of way, measuring 1,300 feet in distance from E Street north to Thomas Knight Park. The work is scheduled to be complete by October 12.
Maietta was one of three vendors to respond to a bid mailed out to 29 general contractors. In base bids, vendors ranged in price from $150,297 to $214,252.
Funding for phase one will be derived from 2006 and 2007 community development block grants (CDBG) and the 2007 capital improvement plan.
“It really is a roadway that has served its time,”said Acting City Manager Jim Gailey.
In a position paper to the council, he added, “The [Knightville] Neighborhood Association felt as though the roadway in its current design and use did not fit the fabric of its neighborhood and did not provide a design that welcomed pedestrian and bicycle access.” Gailey also stated that a local car dealership is currently using the road as a “test track.”
Phase one is geared toward creating a boulevard feel on the water side or west side of Waterman Drive through the addition of street trees. The plan also calls for the narrowing of the road width and an extension of the curb line as well as the installation of paved walkways and seating areas. Gailey said parking will be preserved.
Maietta’s bid also includes the extension of street lights, similar to those in Thomas Knight Park, along the right of way.
Gailey said a design for the area was accepted two years ago, but the city has been acquiring funding in a “piecemeal fashion.” The city first began to look at the project with the Knightville Neighborhood Association in 2004, which Gailey said also marked the city’s beginnings with the CDBG program.
An alternate to the original bid, which the city currently does not have enough funds to include, calls for the construction of a six-foot wide pedestrian walkway, two concrete paver seating areas and crosswalk painting on the east side of Waterman Drive.
“For me, this kind of feels like the conclusion of the replacement of the Million Dollar Bridge,” said Councilor Linda Boudreau. “It’s time to finish the neighborhood.”
Staff Writer
Once the gateway to South Portland for motorists traveling over the Million Dollar Bridge, Waterman Drive will be reconfigured to fit into the surrounding walkable Knightville neighborhood.
On Monday, the city council, with Jim Soule absent, unanimously awarded a bid for $190,750 to Maietta Construction of Scarborough for phase one of improvements to the Waterman Drive right of way, measuring 1,300 feet in distance from E Street north to Thomas Knight Park. The work is scheduled to be complete by October 12.
Maietta was one of three vendors to respond to a bid mailed out to 29 general contractors. In base bids, vendors ranged in price from $150,297 to $214,252.
Funding for phase one will be derived from 2006 and 2007 community development block grants (CDBG) and the 2007 capital improvement plan.
“It really is a roadway that has served its time,”said Acting City Manager Jim Gailey.
In a position paper to the council, he added, “The [Knightville] Neighborhood Association felt as though the roadway in its current design and use did not fit the fabric of its neighborhood and did not provide a design that welcomed pedestrian and bicycle access.” Gailey also stated that a local car dealership is currently using the road as a “test track.”
Phase one is geared toward creating a boulevard feel on the water side or west side of Waterman Drive through the addition of street trees. The plan also calls for the narrowing of the road width and an extension of the curb line as well as the installation of paved walkways and seating areas. Gailey said parking will be preserved.
Maietta’s bid also includes the extension of street lights, similar to those in Thomas Knight Park, along the right of way.
Gailey said a design for the area was accepted two years ago, but the city has been acquiring funding in a “piecemeal fashion.” The city first began to look at the project with the Knightville Neighborhood Association in 2004, which Gailey said also marked the city’s beginnings with the CDBG program.
An alternate to the original bid, which the city currently does not have enough funds to include, calls for the construction of a six-foot wide pedestrian walkway, two concrete paver seating areas and crosswalk painting on the east side of Waterman Drive.
“For me, this kind of feels like the conclusion of the replacement of the Million Dollar Bridge,” said Councilor Linda Boudreau. “It’s time to finish the neighborhood.”
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