We’re sure Edgecomb selectmen weren’t at all surprised when Maine Department of Transportation state traffic engineer Steve Landry told them on December 21 that traffic studies indicate increased traffic all across the state for the past two years. If the economy continues to improve, we can expect these numbers to go up, especially on congested Route One and Route 27, the gateway to the Edgecomb/Boothbay peninsula.  One of the reasons for the anticipated increase is the growing interest in the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay, which is attracting visitors from near and far. The Gardens Aglow winter spectacular, with over 200,000 lights, exceeded all expectations, with thousands of visitors coming down onto the peninsula via Route 27.

Traffic on the peninsula has sharply increased the past few years, even without the benefit of the Gardens. Several times during the day, generally in the morning and late afternoon, you’ll see a long line of traffic which thankfully hasn’t yet reached the point where it’s Wiscasset style stop and go traffic. It is prompting many peninsula residents, as well as those who drive Route 27 on a regular basis, to bemoan the fact that ten, twenty or more years ago, before more homes and businesses began to line the roadway, the state should have tried to acquire land to accommodate passing lanes. There may still be a couple of spots where it’s still possible and logical, but time is definitely running out.

It’s a long drive from Boothbay Harbor to Route One, and vice versa, if you get behind a slow-moving vehicle – often 35 or 40 in 55 mph zones – and it doesn’t take long to back up the line of traffic, because you’re odds of passing in the precious  few  legal passing zones are next to non-existent.

The Department of Transportation and its maintenance department do a relatively good job of keeping the road in decent shape, free of potholes or rough, uneven pavement and we all appreciate it, but we seriously need some third lanes to give slow-moving vehicles a place to move over.

Roads which handle the most traffic generally draw the most attention, so we’re hopeful that the new, higher, numbers will bring us more improvements to Route 27 in coming months.  Most folks welcome the increased business crucial to our economic survival, but we all know the condition of our roads will be of critical importance. Maybe it’s just our opinion, but new passing lanes on Route 27 south of Route One should be deserving of MDOT priority status.