OTISFIELD – A rest area on Route 117 will remain open for the season as town and state officials try to determine its fate.

The Twin Bridges rest area on the Harrison-Otisfield border on the Crooked River, was blocked by barriers for a time but reopened Friday. The site includes a privy and several stone and wooden picnic tables. It is closed during the winter.

“Really it was just a delayed opening,” said Mark Latti, spokesman for the Maine Department of Transportation.

Latti said the DOT is in the process of looking over the 52 rest areas throughout the state, which have annual costs of $2 million for toilet facilities and maintenance of buildings and grounds. Latti said some areas are close to places that offer duplicate services, such as convenience stores.

Latti said the DOT offered the rest area to Otisfield in a deal that would have had the town operate the area and the state retain ownership of it. Last month, Otisfield selectmen voted against accepting the site due to its location in the northern part of the town and the small number of Otisfield residents who use it.

The Western Maine Fish and Game Club, a Harrison organization located near the rest area, has expressed interest in voluntarily maintaining the site.

“I think it’s a good gesture on the part of the club,” Vice President Noyes Blake said. “A lot of people go in there and fish. I’ve gone by there several times and seen people fishing and people just sitting down and having a picnic.”

Town Manager Bradley Plante of Harrison said he and club members will be meeting with DOT region manager John Connell to discuss the future of the rest area on Tuesday.

“It’s a very beautiful spot, and people mostly use it to have lunch or kick back,” Plante said.