Work to begin on Houlton park by summer

HOULTON – Though the banks of the Meduxnekeag River are quiet now, that is expected to change in the next six to eight months.

Armed with more than $980,000, including $650,000 from the Department of Transportation and another $300,000 in private donations, project leaders expect that work on the park and trail system along the river can begin soon.

“Next summer is our goal,” said Gary Edwards, superintendent of the town’s Parks and Recreation Department.

“The majority of the work is on the north side,” he said. “We plan to bid that out next spring and do the work in the summer.”

While there is little to see that has changed so far, Edwards said, preliminary work has been going on in preparation for the summer work, including obtaining land access.

“Now we know who’s where and we’ve been doing negotiations,” he said. “We expect there will be some gifting [of land] or some easements granted.”

The project will consist of a paved trail that follows a dirt road about a quarter-mile from the North Street Bridge along the north side of the river to the Highland Avenue Bridge. Some unpaved trails will lead to observation points along the shore.

A parking area with toilet facilities will be located at the North Street end of the park.

Copeland Associates of Bar Harbor is developing preliminary landscape designs for the park.

According to Edwards, the intention is to keep the riverbank as natural as possible, while providing new access.

A major part of that access will be the 250-foot pedestrian and bicycle bridge, which will parallel the North Street Bridge.

A meeting has been set for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 8, at the town office to get ideas and comments from the public on a design for the bridge.

Representatives of H.E. Bergeron of North Conway, N.H., the engineering firm chosen to design the bridge, will be on hand to hear public comments and offer suggestions.

Survey work and subsurface test borings have been done in the area where the bridge is planned. The DOT funds will be used for construction of the bridge in 2003 and 2004, Edwards said.

When the project is completed, people will be able to make a loop along the river, going through the historic downtown business district and back to the park.