RANGELEY – It meanders like a highway to heaven through 36 miles of God’s country.

Lush green pine trees, sparkling lakes and rivers stocked with leaping trout, jagged rock faces and of course, the occasional moose, borders its sides.

From Smalls Falls in Township E up through Rangeley and Oquossoc on Route 4 and back down through the mountains through Height of the Land on Route 17 and to the Franklin County line, the Rangeley Lakes Scenic Byway carries drivers and passengers to a different world.

So, it came as no surprise in 2000 when the road was designated as a Maine State Scenic Byway by the Maine Department of Transportation and as a National Scenic Byway by the Federal Highway Administration’s National Scenic Byways Program, joining the ranks of other famed-byways like the Kancamagus Scenic Byway in New Hampshire, the Las Vegas strip and even the place to get your kicks – historic Route 66.

There are fewer than 100 National Scenic Byways nationwide. “America’s byways are a distinctive collection of American roads, their stories and treasured places,” states the National Scenic Byways Program Web site. “They are roads to the heart and soul of America.”

But with the prestigious byway designation comes responsibility to maintain the road and its character. That duty falls on a 10-person byway council comprised of local officials and interested parties, who provide community-level protection for the roads, which are not protected by any special laws.

Rebecca Kurtz, scenic byway coordinator for the RLSB, believes that the byway itself is one of the region’s greatest draws. “It’s a unique winding road in a forested area with rivers and mountains on each side. It’s beautiful,” she said. “It’s a tourist attraction in and of itself.”

Although the oversight is in the hands of local people, the government chips in around $25 million, via grants, annually to byways. Recently, the RLSB was allotted $500,000 and Kurtz said that money will be well spent. Among the top priorities: improving signs, setting up interpretive centers, developing biking and walking paths and putting in two new overlooks.

“We take a preservation and enhancement focus, rather than one of change,” said Kurtz, sticking to the national organization’s motto of “recognition, not regulation.”

In addition to the current two overlooks, the two new overlooks will be placed at the base of Dallas Hill – next to Whip Willow Farm – and on the Height of the Land. The overlooks, which will provide pullovers, should be completed in several years.

The byway by Smalls Falls is expected to get a makeover sometime soon as part of a $4 to $5 million revamping project. According to Maine DOT project manager Heath Cowan, work on the 3.84-mile stretch would begin at Smalls Falls in Madrid and continue north to just above where the Appalachian Trail crosses Route 4 in Sandy River Plantation.

“The road surface needs to be reconstructed from the bottom up,” said Kurtz. “There is no question that the road needs to be fixed, it’s a question of how much it has to be fixed. We have to maintain the character of the road.”

Kurtz and other byway council members are working with the DOT to preserve the byway’s fundamental principals – resource stewardship, protection of the corridor, and first and foremost, transportation safety.

“When you enter the byway on that turn by Smalls Falls,” said Kurtz proudly, “you know you are on your way to a different way of life.”

For more information about the Rangeley Lakes Scenic Byway, or to become involved, contact coordinator Rebecca Kurtz at 864-7311(ext. 5).

sdepoy@sunjournal.com

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