Through traffic will be directed to detour to routes such as Shaws Ridge Road and Grammar Road. Photo: City of Sanford
By Renée Morin
Sanford residents should plan for longer travel times and detours throughout July due to sewer construction on Cottage Street, according to Public Works Director Matthew Hill.
Starting Monday, July 6, the city will detour through traffic for Cottage Street to other routes during weekdays. The street closure will allow the Sanford Sewerage District to install upgrades to the sewer infrastructure beneath the road, Hill told the city council earlier this month.
Access to homes and businesses will largely continue, though some locations may be accessible only by foot for limited periods.
Work in the area will start at 8 am daily and may stretch past dark, according to Hill. The city will install signs before work begins to instruct drivers where to detour.
Hill is anticipating increased traffic on Grammar Road due to the Cottage Street detour and the upcoming RAISE Grant reconstruction in downtown Sanford. To help address this, the city partnered with MaineDOT to install safety measures to calm traffic at the intersection of Grammar Road and Grammar Street. This will include the installation of a four-way stop, warning signs, narrowing of road shoulders and retroreflective markers to delineate the shoulder, all in approaches to the intersection.
The measures are temporary as part of a “traffic calming demonstration,” but Hill told the council that the city can discuss with MaineDOT whether any of them should become permanent.
Concerns for the intersection aren’t only from increased traffic. “Grammar Road, and particularly this intersection, were the two greatest concerns voiced by residents when we held our open house,” Hill told the council, referring to a public event in March. “People went way too fast on this road even when it was in bad shape.”
Hill expects the new top layer of asphalt will smooth out the road and make it easier to drive on. He expects additional signs and road narrowing will help with the history of car crashes on the road. LED flashing stop signs, provided by MaineDot, will also be installed at the intersection.
The city also plans to add temporary traffic safety measures to the two crosswalks south of Front Street, on Route 109/Main Street. Hill said there are a lot of “near misses” on this road. “Route 109/Main Street in front of Hannaford is excessively wide, and as you are traveling either northbound or southbound if there is someone stopped ahead of you there is ample enough room to go around them on the right,” said Hill, “and that person stopped in front of you may be stopped for a pedestrian crossing the roadway, which is then obscured by the vehicle in front of you.”
Hill proposed measures similar to those on Grammar Road. This would include narrowing the road shoulders and adding markers to delineate the shoulders. The city will also add temporary lines to mark out possible curb extensions near the crosswalk that would narrow the road to one lane. The city installed crosswalk signs in the area in 2024. The next step is to see whether widening the sidewalk permanently via curb extensions will improve pedestrian safety.
The plan is to wrap up work by July 31, Hill said, though unforeseen obstacles or weather could delay the project. Updates about the project can be found on the Sanford Sewerage District website. Information on the detours can be read as a news post on the City of Sanford website.
The post Cottage Street and Other Closures: What to Expect appeared first on Sanford Springvale News.
