BETHEL – Bethel and Newry planning work inched forward Wednesday night on a proposed 74-lot, single-family residential subdivision on more than 308 acres spanning both towns.

The entrance road of the project, named Locke Summit Estates, is off Sunday River Road and would lead to 28 lots and a common area in Bethel, and 26 lots in Newry.

During the past six or seven months, each board has tackled the project separately, only convening for rare joint meetings to work out procedures.

Due to the size of the project, it has also been undergoing simultaneous scrutiny by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

On Wednesday night, both boards met inside the conference room at the Bethel fire station to merge or rework components from both boards’ conditions of approval toward creation of a final plan.

During the meeting, planners from both towns frequently sought wording guidance from engineers Tom DuBois and Rick Dunton of Main-Land Development Inc. of Livermore Falls. Main-Land is the project’s agent for applicant Locke Summit Estates LLC.

Bethel Planning Board Chairman Al Cressy and Newry Planning Board Chairman Joseph Aloisio steered most of the discussion, although several planners from both boards joined in with ideas.

At times, discussion bogged down into small or trivial details regarding third-party inspectors and road construction standards.

Both boards agreed that road systems proposed in each town would be maintained to that specific town’s standards. Maintenance of these roads would be the homeowners’ responsibility.

Ninety minutes into the meeting, which began at 7 p.m., it didn’t appear that either board would approve the project Wednesday. Instead, by 8:30 p.m., planners and Main-Land were still poring through both towns’ conditions of approval with a fine-tooth comb.