Windham Intersection Construction Gets an Upgrade After Public Pushes for Traffic Light
The Maine DOT is planning to make safety improvements to an intersection in Windham that desperately needs it.
Albion Road crosses Route 302 in Windham about a mile east of the rotary and if you want to get out into traffic that is going well above the 50 MPH speed limit, you better time it just right, because the car on the other side of 302 wants to do the same. They don't have their turn signal on, so they're going straight right? You better hope so.
If you're heading west turning off 302 onto Albion and someone is doing the same in the other direction, your view of oncoming traffic is blocked, so you have to slowly inch your way over to be sure someone isn't barreling down on you at 60 MPH or just wait until the other driver makes their turn.
In 2019 the concrete islands at the intersection were painted bright green to get people's attention that they can't drive on them, but this intersection needs more after there were 40 crashes here in 2021.
Originally, The Maine DOT was planning to spend $156,000 on safety improvements to the intersection in 2023. That was to include a flashing beacon, that flashes yellow in one direction and red in another. The original plan also included re-painting pavement markings and installing delineators at the islands. What is a delineator? I found some on Amazon and they look like this.
The residents of Windham spoke up and told the Maine DOT that more needs to be done, and they listened.
The plan has changed to add a full traffic light to the intersection of Albion Road and Route 302. This will be a big help for everyone trying to make a left turn. No more worrying about the blind spot they have when someone is doing the same the other way.
The project has now been pushed back to begin construction in the Spring of 2025. Not as soon as I'd hoped, but I'll take it!