DOT to install stoplight at bridge Prospect signal to handle expected tourist traffic

PROSPECT -The Maine Department of Transportation will install a temporary traffic light at the intersection of Routes 1 and 174, just south of the Penobscot Narrows Bridge and Observatory.

The move is a safety precaution in anticipation of increased tourist traffic around the bridge and observatory at the location this summer, according to Carol Morris, the spokeswoman for the bridge project. DOT traffic engineers have observed that some motorists are distracted as they approach the bridge, slowing down in order to look up at the bridge towers, Morris said in a prepared release.

“We expect that come summer, area residents who have gotten used to the bridge may be moving at the normal speed, but tourists will still be subject to a ‘gawk factor,'” Morris said. “Therefore, we want to take extra precautions now in terms of safety.”

Some motorists already have raised concerns about the intersection, but there have been no accidents there, Morris said Friday. The DOT redesigned the intersection in conjunction with the bridge project, relocating it from the end of the Waldo-Hancock Bridge to a reconfigured Route 1 approach to the new bridge.

While the “gawk factor” is one traffic concern, Morris said there are other contributing factors to the decision to install the traffic light.

During a recent test of the bridge’s decorative lighting system, she said, DOT officials noticed that the cable stay lights have the potential to create a visual distraction for southbound motorists leaving the bridge near the Route 174 intersection. Also, during adverse weather conditions such as fog, heavy rain or snow, the cable stays also could make it difficult for a driver making a left-hand turn onto Route 174 to see a car traveling southbound on the bridge.

Although a traffic light is not technically warranted under these conditions, this bridge has created a unique circumstance, Morris said.

“We believe prevention is the best solution, especially with the amount of tourists the observatory is likely to attract this summer,” she said. “The number of visitors for the BridgeWalk event last October and the opening ceremony in December both exceeded expectations, so it is prudent to plan for a high level of interest.”

If problems at the intersection materialize, the light could become permanent, Morris said, or the department could redesign the intersection. Work on a new intersection could be scheduled in conjunction with the removal of the Waldo-Hancock Bridge, she said. No date has been set for the bridge removal.

DOT officials will watch traffic volumes and patterns at the intersection to determine the need for any future work there.

With a traffic light already in place on Route 1 in Bucksport, the new light is not expected to have any significant impact on traffic flow.

The design for the light has not been completed, Morris said. The light will stop southbound motorists at the Prospect end of the bridge with a red light activated only by northbound Route 1 vehicles turning left onto Route 174 or by vehicles entering Route 1 from 174. Northbound Route 1 traffic will be stopped only by vehicles entering Route 1 from Route 174.

The department intends to use salvaged electrical components to keep the cost of the temporary light at about $60,000, which includes using DOT labor. The traffic light should be operating before Memorial Day weekend.