BETHEL – The intersection of Parkway and Route 2, the scene of numerous wrecks over the years, is about to get a makeover.
Pratt and Sons Inc. of Mechanic Falls was awarded a $142,281 contract last Tuesday by the Maine Department of Transportation to improve the intersection.
The work, which includes installing a concrete median, curbing and a flashing beacon, is scheduled to be completed by Oct. 15.
“This is good news for Bethel,” Town Manager Scott Cole said early Monday evening.
“It’s definitely a step in the right direction,” he added.
Cole said that in addition to the work, utilities with poles in the area are going to be moving them back to clear the right of way.
In the last few years, town officials have pressed MDOT for a red-green-yellow traffic signal and reduced clutter.
Parkway is a short road that connects Route 2 with Route 26.
Traffic flows into the four-way intersection from three directions, two of which have two lanes. One is an overpass that curves down into the junction.
On one side of the road are entrances to Crossroads Diner and Deli and Rite-Aid Pharmacy. On the other side of the road is the Norway Savings Bank complex and Mallard Mart, a convenience store and gas station.
At a public hearing last year, MDOT officials said the intersection doesn’t meet any of its criteria to have a red-green-yellow traffic signal installed.
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