rockland

[luckyleftyme2]

Has this coastal town changed since the 50's. One of my first survey jobs was
working on rte#1,then the rte 90 by pass.ah yes at that time a stronghold for the republican party.
How well I remember the rooming house I stayed at $10 a week that left me $22.50
to eat on. Of course we traveled on our own time in my case two hours monday morning and friday afternoon.
The people were nice and restaurant had good food. amazing the changes in 50+ years.

[high density]

1. What it needs now is a 4 lane highway in and out of town, down to Bath

Route 1 is a cluster, and Route 17 isn't much better. A decent connector from Route 17 to I-295 near Gardiner would be most welcome. I like Rockland, but the trip there from or to the south is a painful affair.

I hope the Strand theater starts showing some decent old movies again. Watching classics like North by Northwest and Sunset Boulevard on the big screen was quite a treat!

[luckyleftyme2]

2. of course you know

that isn't a new idea.we started a rte#1 survey from bath to rockland in the 50s just for that reason.
I worked on the stretch from brunswick to bath, the money was shifted to the interstate system in the early 60s!
might be interesting to do a little research you probably would be amazed the road blocks that have stopped it from being a reality.

[high density]

6. Yeah my Granddad told me about that survey in the 50s

Too bad they didn't go through with it. I know pretty much everybody has "not in my back yard" POV so it's not surprising to me that it wasn't built and seems even less likely today. Just look at the outrage in Warren about adding shoulders to the road (and then MDOT only did half of it and quietly decided not to finish the job.) Then they spent millions in Camden doing pretty much the same thing and actually made parts of the road worse (that island at the Camden Hills State Park entrance is horrid.)

[Shorebound]

3. A four-lane Route 1

has been proposed several times over the past 30 years or so. In the late 1980s the MDOT proposed building a four-lane highway between Bath and Camden parallel to Route 1 and a few miles inland. The first hearing in South Hope brought hundreds of local people who almost tarred and feathered the MDOT engineers for even thinking about putting a superhighway through their towns. The meeting a week later in Wiscasset was twice as bad, despite the police protection.

I drive Route 1 between Bath and Rockland regularly and actually don't think it's that bad. If Wiscasset could get its act together on a bypass, the drive might almost be pleasant. Even better would be restoring train service along the line from Brunswick to Rockland.

The Strand is another Matt Simmons project. Not sure what they're using it for, although the last time I was in town it was showing first-run movies.

You're absolutely right about the need for a 17-I-295 connector. There's no easy way to get to I-295 from 17. If you want to head north on I-95 from 17, you can turn right off Route 17 a mile or so past Togus (Church Hill road, I think) and go up to Route 3. The road comes out just below the new connector with I-95.

[Maine-ah]

4. the train does run

Maine Eastern Railroad has been restored. As for the 4 lane highway? Pft, I live here, and I wouldn't want it. I'd rather deal with the traffic. I also know the back roads, so it doesn't really bother me much. But if you want to get around Rockland's traffic problem, just catch rt. 90 in Warren, takes you past 17 as well. If you keep going it takes you to Rockport rt. 1.

[Shorebound]

5. Yep

I'm familiar with the line's restoration. I just wish there was regular passenger service on it. And I first started using the Route 90 shortcut when parts of it were still gravel.

This is off-topic, but how high would gasoline have to get, do you think, before passenger train service became an acceptable option again? You live in Rockland. If you wanted to go to Portland, what would be the conditions that would persuade you to take the train to Congress Street instead of your car?

[Maine-ah]

7. well, shit, shorebound

you've been around awhile then ;-)

if the train went to the mall area, I'd use it. I never go down to Congrss St, maybe once a year.

[mainegreen]

8. How about joining the Portland spur up to Brunswick?

Allowing those disembarking the Downeaster to continue their journey. Right now there's this stupid gap between Portland and Brunswick. There is a bond, but we'll see what happens there.
But I guess I should be glad Amtrak came back to Maine.

[luckyleftyme2]

9. funny

had a guy in the store the other day that said he brought the trains back to maine;we were talking bout yearly trip to boston gardens,and shore bound I was surveyor on rte 90 by pass.
guess you been around almost as long as me.and you see there is a horror tale to 4 lane rte#1. ITS CALLED LOCAL POLITICS!

[Shorebound]

10. You must have been talking

to Wayne Davis. He worked for more than ten years to bring passenger rail back to Maine. Older guy, white hair?

When I was a kid back in the Stone Age we all went to an optometrist in Wiscasset. Used the Route 90 shortcut to clip off that Rockland-Thomaston loop in Route 1. It was mostly gravel then. But I don't recall if it had a route number or was just considered a local road in those days. A local guy who lived on one of the side roads had a wacky sign out on 90, can't recall what it said, but we always looked for it.

[luckyleftyme2]

11. sounds like rte#9 to me

sounds like the ole airline, (RTE#9) ira perkins use to grade it back in the 40's; I won't mention to many names just those i recollect working with out of the rockland dot office who have passed on. One was al pierpont(not sure of the spelling) another was "bud hanson".
back in the ole days when they had a DOT engineering monthly(EACH DIV. STATE WIDE CONTRIBUTED TO IT) those two loved to fish; they went on a fishing trip and brought the pictures in. Just happened I went to secret pond # 3 and my catch was bigger. now these two were avid streamer fly and dry fly fisherman. Me I used "super dupers" and Al's gold fish. so after that I was known as "the tin merchant"
I must say I miss those guys AN their "HUMOR". "bud"and two other guys and I worked on a bridge act program in the 70's . all those bridges that were widened on the turnpike had their original surveys done in the 70's. I covered from berwick to alna doing bridge surveys on major and state aide roads for two years. many of them have been rebuilt.
I ain't as old as god but I BEEN AROUND THE BLOCK! I worked on many airbases and military
projects all over maine,new hampshire,conn. mass. aerial photo,top secret projects, atomic power plants in several states. met and know a lot of the movers and shakers in new england
had a lot of fun met some of the best craftsman in the world on these projects.