ELLSWORTH – An extensive round of road reconstruction projects is set to begin next week in an area of Ellsworth that already is among the city’s most congested.

The projects, which include repositioning a traffic light on lower High Street, turning a portion of Route 3 into a one-way road, and widening Myrick Street to make room for a large-scale shopping center, could extend well into the summer months.

And that could mean traffic headaches for Hancock County residents and tourists alike.

“We had a meeting last week trying to get all the contractors together to coordinate,” Ellsworth City Manager Michelle Beal said this week. “It’s almost like a play where you need to get everyone in their places.”

The first installment will start Monday on High Street near the Maine Coast Mall. A traffic light at the entrance of the shopping plaza will be moved further down High Street to accommodate a through road across the corridor. That road will extend to a Walgreens pharmacy, which is currently being built.

The Maine Coast Mall already has seen significant charges. Two business buildings, KFC and Coffee Express, were torn down to make room for new-and-improved buildings. Similarly, the McDonald’s at the far end of the mall has been leveled and a new restaurant is being built in the same area.

Also expected to resume next week is reconstruction of Myrick Street, which connects Route 3 with Route 1.

That project started last fall and includes widening the street and installing a traffic light at the intersection of Route 1 and Myrick Street. It coincides with work that already has begun on the second phase of Acadia Crossing, a 26-store open air shopping center highlighted by a Wal-Mart Supercenter.

Crews will likely set up detours around Myrick Street.

Once Myrick Street is completed, another road project to turn a portion of Route 3 into a one-way road from the end of High Street to its intersection with Myrick will likely begin.

For an area that serves as the connector to Acadia National Park, Mount Desert Island and virtually all destinations Down East, the road work could cause significant traffic delays for visitors traveling through Ellsworth.

City officials maintain that the road repairs and changes are both essential and inevitable to keeping up with Ellsworth’s growth.

Meanwhile, work already has begun on a stretch of Route 1A just north of downtown Ellsworth. That project, which will include installing a traffic light where Oak Street and State Street meet – known locally as “fork-in-the-road” – is expected to last until June.

In the last week, motorists already have been using Shore Road as a detour, which already has caused concern among residents, according to Ellsworth police.

Beal said complaints have flooded city hall as well about the delays.

erussell@bangordailynews.net

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