U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, has requested that $9.6 million be included in a federal appropriations bill for the construction of a roundabout in West Cumberland.
The planned roundabout at the crossing of Route 100/Gray Road, Skillin Road and Blackstrap Road will make the intersection safer and could foster economic development in West Cumberland, town leaders have said.
An early rendering of a proposed rotary at Blackstrap and Skillin roads and Route 100/Gray Road. Contributed / Town of Cumberland
The request to the Senate Appropriations Committee, of which Collins is vice chair, is the first step in securing the funding in this fiscal year through a competitive process, Collins said in a letter to Town Council Chair Mark Segrist last week.
During the congressional appropriations process, the 12 subcommittees within the Senate Appropriations Committee draft appropriations bills that are then taken up by the full committee, which could amend them. Inclusion of the $9.6 million for the roundabout is not guaranteed.
“The intersection has been a very dangerous intersection for the town,” former Town Manager Bill Shane said in an interview shortly before he stepped down.
According to the Maine Department of Transportation, there were 12 crashes at the intersection between 2021 and 2023. There is currently a blinking red light at the intersection with flashing beacons in each direction.
The town hired engineering firm Gorrill Palmer to undertake a study of the intersection, and last year the firm recommended a traffic roundabout as the safest solution. Putting traffic signals at the intersection would have been less expensive, but the intersection did not meet state requirements for traffic signals, according to Shane.
The Town Council voted last October to submit a formal request for funding for a roundabout to the Maine Department Transportation. Maine DOT Commissioner Bruce Van Note put in a request for funding with Collins.
The project is expected to cost between $10 million and $12 million, according to Shane, and the town would be responsible for covering up to $2 million for the project. The rest would be covered by the federal government.
In addition to making the intersection safer, town leaders hope it will foster economic development in that area of town.
“The news of a potential $9.6 million federal funding package to help us construct a beautiful roundabout in the area is not only welcomed, but could also serve as the economic catalyst needed to attract new businesses to the area and to grow Cumberland’s commercial tax base,” Segrist said in an email to The Forecaster.
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