OTISFIELD – The Maine Department of Transportation will look into what might be done with a Route 117 rest area. Selectmen voted not to take over ownership.

In a letter to the town dated March 31, MDOT region manager John Cannell said that a 2002 report determined that the Twin Bridges rest area no longer meets the department’s need as a rest area.

Cannell said the state would be willing to transfer the rest area to the town at no cost, with the town being responsible for maintaining and policing the property. The transfer would include a clause reverting the rest area to state control if it is not used for public purposes.

The Twin Bridges rest area is located along the Crooked River, which is the boundary between Otisfield and Harrison. It is set back in a wooded area and includes a privy, one barbecue stand, and several stone and wooden picnic tables, one of which is covered with a canopy.

At their last meeting, Otisfield selectmen unanimously decided against accepting the property.

“We don’t feel because of the location of the rest area that it would be in the best interest of the town to own and maintain that piece of property,” Selectman Rick Micklon said.

Micklon said people would be more likely to use a rest area on Route 121, which runs through the center of town, than Route 117, which runs through a small section of town near its northern border.

Micklon said maintenance of the rest area would also be an greater burden to the town’s Highway Department.

Cannell said that the state will look into options to maintain the rest area, but will also investigate the possibility of closing the site. If that occurs, Cannell said the state would retain ownership of the land and sell the property on it.

“If we didn’t remove that stuff, it’s just an attractive nuisance for vandals,” he said.