RANGELEY – The Maine Department of Transportation said it will spend approximately $2 million on improvements to the Height of Land section of Route 17 in Rangeley beginning in the summer of 2006.
The Height of Land, a section of Route 17 overlooking Mooselookmeguntic Lake, has been designated a U.S. Scenic Byway by the Department of Transportation, said Maine Scenic Byways Director Bob LaRoche.
Rebecca Kurtz of Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust said that although it is beautiful, the section of road in question has never been safe. “From what I understand, Route 17 used to be an ox-cart path, and has never actually been constructed to regular standards the road itself dips and turns and bends in ways that it really shouldn’t; it’s out of alignment. It presents a bit of a danger,” she said.
LaRoche said the DOT has planned a project to both redesign the viewing area overlooking Mooselookmeguntic Lake and improve the road’s safety. After work is completed, he said, there will be “two designated entrance-exits” to a viewing lane, increased parking and “longer-term parking” for Appalachian Trail hikers.
The road will also be straightened for safety. “The existing road is actually pitching toward the edge” of the mountain, LaRoche said. “It’s not particularly a safe situation there. We don’t know why no one slid off the road (yet), quite frankly.”
He said since the roadway is “right on top of the mountain,” engineering the changes has been difficult, and that engineers working on the project have been careful to maintain “a higher aesthetic level” than on many projects.
The DOT will begin advertising the project for construction bids in the spring of 2006, and LaRoche said construction will start that summer. Kurtz said she was excited about the project, and happy that the DOT plans to retain “the historical integrity of the view.”
“Sometimes when you do road projects it takes you away from where you’ve been,” she said. “In this particular case we hope it will retain its historical integrity.”
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