Falmouth, ME The town of Falmouth and the Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) formed a partnership that will make a currently owned state right of way in Falmouth available for development. The right of way is located along Rte. 1 at the intersection of the Maine Tpke. Connector (Falmouth Spur). The project entails a conversion of the transportation infrastructure from a bridge and ramp system to an at-grade intersection. This work will be performed by a selected developer chosen through a Request for Proposal (RFP) process managed by the town of Falmouth, and will need to meet MaineDOT standards.
The investment in the infrastructure will result in a new development parcel of approximately 11 acres at an extremely advantageous location with highway access to U.S. Rte. 1, the Maine Tpke., as well as I-295. The RFP was issued on January 26. MaineDOT will transfer the state-owned parcel to the selected developer upon completion of the infrastructure work, allowing the Tpke. Connector to continue to function as it does today. The town of Falmouth is expected to issue local permits and adopt zoning for this parcel as it does not currently have a land use zoning designation. “MaineDOT’s mission is to responsibly provide our customers the safest and most reliable transportation system possible, given available resources,” said commissioner David Bernhardt. “One of the department’s goals is to support economic opportunity. We see this partnership with Falmouth and the development community as providing not only improved safety for our customers, but also creating a prime development site that was previously unavailable. This makes good business sense on behalf of the Maine taxpayer.”
“The town recently completed a $12 million investment on Rte. 1, which included placing overhead powerlines and communication lines underground. This has transformed the Rte. 1 area,” said Falmouth town manager Nathan Poore.
The original idea to explore the decommissioning of the highway ramps and bridge resulted from a day-long event and survey that the town of Falmouth conducted in late 2009.