TOWNSHIP 22 – Motorists traveling on Route 9 between Calais and Brewer will have access to modern year-round public restroom facilities located adjacent to the Airline Snack Bar and Lodge in Township 22, thanks to the efforts of a state senator.

Sen, Kevin Raye, R-Perry, said Thursday the facility will open on Friday.

Raye proposed the idea last year when he introduced LD 561, directing the Maine Department of Transportation to establish it. Raye argued that the lack of year-round public restroom facilities along the heavily traveled route posed a hardship to travelers.

There were plenty of jokes and snickers when the Legislature’s Transportation Committee heard Raye’s pitch for building the facility, he said, but after some initial joking, Raye told a sobering story about his late father who was being treated in Bangor for prostate cancer.

“I can well remember the agony he suffered traveling that road knowing there was no place to stop,” Raye said at the time. The treatments necessitated more frequent stops than normal. “It’s really not funny – it’s an indignity,” Raye said. “This is a public health issue; this is a public safety issue,” Raye continued. He said the state should be ashamed of how it does not provide well for travelers’ restroom needs.

Joining Raye in testifying in support of the bill were Reps. Howard McFadden, R-Dennysville, Joe Tibbetts, R-Columbia, Ben Pratt, D-Holden, and Passamaquoddy Rep. Donald Soctomah.

Raye subsequently negotiated an agreement with DOT Commissioner David Cole for an innovative public-private partnership to bring the restroom facilities to fruition. After putting the proposal out to bid, the DOT secured an agreement with Frank and Mary Ann Janusz, owners of the Airline Snack Bar and Lodge, to build, operate and maintain the facilities.

“Many Washington County residents must travel to Bangor for medical treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation and the like. Many of the health conditions they suffer necessitate frequent trips to the bathroom, so the lack of year-round public restroom facilities has made the trip an agonizing one for many people. The opening of the restroom will be welcome news for them, and will also be much more welcoming to tourists visiting our area,” Raye said in a press release.

Raye praised Commissioner Cole and his staff, as well as Frank and Mary Ann Janusz, for finding a way to make the project possible.

“The new facilities will be heated in the winter, and open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,” said Raye, noting tongue-in cheek that the announcement will come as a “relief” to those who travel Route 9 between Calais and Brewer.

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