Now that members of the Midcoast Bypass Task Force know what the state's "preferred" bypass route is, task force members will be given the chance to discuss the choice among themselves.

At the June 10 meeting when the preferred route was named for the Route 1 bypass in Wiscasset and Edgecomb, a decision was made to cancel the next scheduled meeting, on June 26.

However, after task force member Doug Baston of Alna raised the question of when the task force members will have a chance to discuss the proposed routes, it was decided to give task force members an opportunity to do this on June 26. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. in the conference room of the county communications building next to the courthouse in Wiscasset.

"We've been preached to, we've been given a lot of data, we've listened," Baston said, "but we've never had a conversation about reaching a consensus on any of these routes."

Meeting facilitator Carol Morris said the meeting will be open to the public, "but this will be for the task force members to have their own discussion," she said.

The preferred route, called N2A, is the longest of the proposed routes, and is favored by the Maine Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration. The Army Corps of Engineers must determine if this is the "least environmentally damaging" of three routes. All of the routes start near the NAPA auto parts store on Route 1, just south of the village, cross the Bradford Road, Route 27, and Route 218; the remaining three routes all cross into Edgecomb at different points, with the N2A route making the widest turn before coming out on the mainland in Edgecomb.

Noting that any Wiscasset bypass "will not be operational for years to come," MDOT has come up with a number of proposals to address traffic congestion in Wiscasset. Those measures were described in materials handed out at the June 10 meeting.

One of the state's ideas is to install an electronic message sign in Edgecomb at the bottom of the hill near Cod Cove to alert people traveling south that traffic is slowed or stopped before the Wiscasset bridge. Because there is a hill before the bridge, motorists sometimes are forced to stop quickly because they do not realize cars are stopped until they get over the top of the hill.

This project is funded and is expected to be advertised for bid this month. However, the date that is projected to become operational is not until Labor Day.

Another idea is to install cameras to provide web-based traffic information. These would be installed about three miles west and east of downtown Wiscasset to provide good visibility of traffic conditions. The cameras would be monitored by the Lincoln County Communications Center, which will contact the state when to post and when to remove traffic notes on 511, MDOT's telephone and web-based traveler information system. The budget for this is $20,000 and no date has been set yet for activation.

Installing a changeable message sign on Interstate 295 northbound, just south of the Brunswick exit, is another proposal. This sign could advise motorists if there are "traffic issues in Wiscasset" which will give travelers the chance to decide if they want to continue on the interstate or take Route 1.

The state proposes to install a permanent traffic monitor to keep track of how many cars are traveling on Route 1 in Wiscasset. This would be placed west of the Route 27 intersection. The state plans to review the intersection of Route 1 and Lee Street and Route 1 and the Bradford Road to see if Lee Street and Bradford Road should be realigned so they are directly across from one another.

Another intersection the state plans to review is the Route 1-Route 27 intersection in Wiscasset. Whether traffic lights should be installed at this intersection will be under consideration. The state has provided Wiscasset town manger Arthur Faucher with aerial views of the town to enable off-street parking areas to be developed.

Still another state proposal is to come up with the projected cost of building an underground pedestrian crossing in the village.

And last, but not least, the state is considering whether to remove the word "Coastal" from the "Coastal Route 1" sign on Interstate 95, since Route 1 through the midcoast is no- where near the coast. Visitors not familiar with the area often follow the "Coastal Route 1" sign, thinking they may actually see the Atlantic Ocean as they're driving along, as you can on many sections of A1A in Florida, but which doesn't happen in Maine until when… Lincolnville Beach?