BAILEYVILLE – Development is what the state should focus on when it decides where to build another bridge to connect Maine and New Brunswick in the Calais area, a Baileyville businessman said.

The state Department of Transportation is studying the feasibility of locating a bridge just north of Route 9 in Baileyville or near the Industrial Park in Calais.

Calais residents want the bridge near the Industrial Park, fearing a major connector outside the city would harm the local economy.

But many in Baileyville say the third bridge could serve the entire region if it were located here because large tracts of land are available for development. In contrast, the Industrial Park area in Calais has little in the way of vacant land.

“The acreage that is available in Baileyville is astronomical for the future of the economy in Washington County,” said Baileyville businessman Charlie Towns of Towns Auto Body on Route 1.

“We have the land that would encourage people from Canada to come in here for warehousing for fish, blueberries, cranberries, whatever you have. And it would make jobs for people. I think it would outweigh what Calais would lose in business down there.”

Two bridges now serve the area, Ferry Point in downtown Calais and the Milltown Bridge, a few miles north of the downtown.

The DOT is examining the advantages and disadvantages of the two possible sites. The report is expected within the next few months.

Safety is another concern. Trucks carrying dangerous chemicals now lumber through downtown Calais and past an active eagles’ nest at the Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge on Route 1.

Baileyville Town Council Chairman Doug Jones said he thinks it is illogical to build a bridge near the Calais Industrial Park because of the S-shaped curves that would be built into the system. “The fewer curves the better,” he said.

Councilor Linda Rayner, who owns Lilac-Sunrise Disposal, said she doesn’t think locating the bridge in Baileyville would have a negative impact on Calais. “It’s just a matter of promoting [the area],” she said. If the bridge were placed in Baileyville, the access road would cross Rayner’s land.

Rayner said a planned Down East Heritage Center would provide an important economic boost for the area.

The new heritage center will showcase not only St. Croix Island, where the French settled briefly in 1604, but also the rich culture of the Passamaquoddy Tribe as well as the historic connection the area has with the sea.

An estimated 90,000 tourists are expected to visit the site annually.

Jones said Calais would continue to have its two bridges, and that would aid the city. “If they publicize the heritage center and the businesses – Marden’s, Wal-Mart – I really believe people, if they want to stop, [they] will stop,” he said.

A tourist information center located next to the bridge also would benefit Calais, Jones said. He said businesses could offer incentives that would attract tourists into the city.

Businesses in other Maine communities offer discount coupons to tourists. The discount coupons are available only at local tourist information centers. “All those stores down there could do a similar promotion. … Say these coupons are available to anyone who wants to stop into Calais and do some shopping,” he said.

The Baileyville officials agree a bridge in their town would change the dynamics of the area. Custom brokerage houses would have to move to the Route 9 area, and motels and fast-food businesses would pop up.

“Any development,” Jones said “regardless of what town it is in, helps the county and that’s really what we were looking at from the start, to help the whole economy not just one town.”

Town Manager Jack Clukey said the state should help Calais.

“I would say [to the state], ‘Look, you [can save] $15 million by putting the bridge in Baileyville and not having to widen Route 1, so why don’t you spend some of the $15 million and help the whole region’s economy?'”

Clukey said he is not concerned with a sprawl problem if the bridge were built in Baileyville. “That is something that is a long way down the road, and it certainly means that if we are dealing with sprawl we also are dealing with an improved economy.”

A casino in Calais also would help. Clukey said he believes if the Passamaquoddy Tribe moves forward with plans to build a casino, it should be built in Calais.