Work To Begin This Summer On State Street/Rte. 1A In Ellsworth

You may have noticed how beat up State Street in Ellsworth has become from the Union River to the Downeast Family YMCA.  That's about to change.

The Maine DOT will begin work on a two year project early this summer that will give the 1.1 mile stretch of road a brand new look!

Most of the road will be turned into three lanes, with the center lane available for turning traffic in either direction.

Two new four way intersections will be constructed, one where North Street currently dumps onto Rte. 1A/State Street and the other where the new entrance to Ellsworth High School will be, directly across from Forest Avenue by Dunkin' Donuts.

The entrance and exit to North Street will be moved to the other side of Sunrise Glass, where visibility up and down Rte. 1A will be increased.  At the new intersection, North Street will be split into two lanes, where one lane can turn left towards Bangor or cross directly to the Shore Road.  The other lane will direct traffic towards Downtown Ellsworth. There will be no traffic light there.

The new entrance to Ellsworth High School will be moved South down the road, next to EBS and directly across from Forest Avenue.  The traffic light at the current entrance location will be moved there also.

One very cool thing is that a new sidewalk will be constructed on the West side of the road and will run pretty much the entire length of the project between the YMCA and Shore Road.

Water and sewer lines will also be replaced along the length of the project and a new and bigger culvert will be installed by Davis Brook.

Folks at the DOT are hoping to keep two lanes open between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. They will also be working on the project some nights.  Work will be completed by the Fall of 2017.