Final Report - VHB.com

4.7 Strategy 2A – Improve Mobility along State
Route 196 and US Route 201
Strategy 2A involves the evaluation of measures to (1) improve vehicular, bicycle,
and pedestrian mobility along State Route 196 (the Coastal Connector) from the I-295
Exit 31 in Topsham to US Route 1 in Brunswick; and (2) reduce congestion at the US
Route 201/State Route 196 intersection. Strategy 2A also includes mobility
enhancement along a section of US Route 201 in the vicinity of the Topsham Annex
and connectivity of US Route 201 to the Coastal Connector, ultimately improving the
linkage to the I-295 interchange at Exit 31.
The Study Area for Strategy 2A encompasses the State Route 196 corridor, also
known as the Coastal Connector, east of US Route 201 (Main Street in Topsham) and
Lewiston Road west of Main Street. State Route 196 is classified as a principle-arterial
roadway. The Study Area begins 0.2 mile west of the I-295/State Route 196–Exit 31,
Lewiston Road, interchange in Topsham. It extends easterly for approximately 1.8
miles, crossing the Androscoggin River and ending at the US Route 1 interchange in
Brunswick. The Lewiston Road section of the Study Area is primarily a
commercial/retail zone; the Coastal Connecter section consists of a combination of
both undeveloped land and residential properties. The Study Area also includes a
0.6-mile section of Main Street beginning approximately 0.2 mile south of the I-295
overpass near the Old Augusta Road intersection, extending southerly through the
intersection with the Coastal Connector, and ending approximately 0.1 mile south of
the Main Street/Pleasant Street intersection. Main Street north of State Route 196 is
classified as a major urban-collector roadway; to the south, it is classified as a minor
arterial roadway. In the Study Area, land use along Main Street is a combination of
commercial, retail, and residential properties and includes Mount Ararat High
School. Based on input from the Study Advisory Committee and feedback from the
public workshops and public informational meetings, a total of seven Feasibility
Study options – including two variations each for Options 2 and 3 – were developed,
as follows:
Option 1 evaluates measures to improve traffic operations at the Exit 31
southbound on-ramp at the State Route 196/I-295 interchange.
Options 2A and 2B, 3A and 3B, and 4 consider measures to reduce congestion
and improve mobility at the Main Street/Coastal Connector intersection.
o
Options 2A and 2B evaluate the use of a roundabout at the Main
Street/Coastal Connector intersection. Option 2A also extends the
existing four travel lanes along the Coastal Connector from the Main
Street intersection easterly to match the existing four-lane section at the
signalized intersection of the Coastal Connector and the existing
connector road to State Route 24 (Middlesex Road). Option 2B includes a
roundabout design without widening the Coastal Connector to the east.
Summary of Options 95