The state will present recommendations on where a Route 1 bypass should go in June, members of the Midcoast Bypass Task Force were told at their May 1 meeting. The task force was formed by the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) to review the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

The Task Force is made up of representatives from eight towns and three local agencies.

A consultant with MDOT, Carol Morris, said, "MDOT will make recommendations on the new information gained through the Task Force reviews at the June 10 meeting."

Morris said she was uncertain if the recommendation will include more than one route.

"It could be two or three alternative routes. Definitely, there will be some routes taken off the table," she said. The agenda for the June meeting will include reviewing the recommended alternatives and discussing how the routes can be improved to meet the needs of the towns.

"We will ask how can we make the recommended route or routes better," she said.

MDOT's Kathy Fuller said, "There is no requirement that the task force come to consensus on the recommended route. We would like that to happen. But it is the MDOT who will make the final analysis."

During the meeting a suggestion for another route was added to the mix in a proposal from John VanOrsdell - a two-mile long tunnel resting on the bottom of the Sheepscot River. He told the group the tunnel would not interfere with the navigation on the river, and would take far fewer homes and businesses than the other routes being considered.

The current routes all begin near the NAPA auto parts store on Route 1, just south of the village, cross Churchill Street, Route 27, Route 218, then land in Edgecomb, either on Davis Island, or the mainland.

A brief discussion followed the presentation with members of the task force and MDOT representatives. Morris said MDOT would review his proposal and report on it at the next meeting.

The Task Force also discussed Edgecomb's land use and zoning alternatives.

Selectman Jo Cameron pointed out that since Davis Island has been changing so much with new development, updated traffic information should be provided.

The next meeting's location has not been announced. Despite repeated requests made to Morris and to MDOT engineer Ed Hanscom by the Wiscasset Newspaper, notices of meetings are not sent to the newspapers.

Legally, the task force apparently does not have to post notices of its meetings, even though taxes pay for the task force activities, task force consultants, and the Department of Transportation (task force members are volunteers). Notices of the meetings are supposed to be posted on the website (The Wiscasset Transportation Study) according to Morris, but the website is not always accessible, especially by people who don't have computers.