WEST PARIS – People traveling from west to east through the village may want to use Pioneer Street for the next few weeks as the West Paris Water District replaces the old mains along Main Street from the Bradeen residence to a point near the intersection of Main and Pioneer streets.

District officials said there is no definite completion date for the project; it depends on how smoothly the work proceeds. The decision to replace the water main originally was planned to run in conjunction with a complete reconstruction of the street by the town highway department and the Maine Department of Transportation.

However, that part of the project has been put off until next year because there is not enough time to complete the project this construction season.

The project is being done by Longchamps & Sons Construction of Lisbon.

Selectmen Chairman Jim Johnston said the Water District’s decision to go ahead with its part of the project comes as a surprise to the board.

Selectmen thought the whole project was being put off until next year, but as a quasi-municipal department, the district has the authority to make such decisions.