AUGUSTA — A preliminary public hearing on roadway reconfiguration around Exit 113 of Interstate 95 came to an abrupt halt Tuesday night when an audience member was stricken with a medical problem.
Paul Cote, of Augusta, had just asked whether state Department of Transportation officials had factored in the uphill grade of Route 27 north where it connects with Old Belgrade Road.
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He asked how a tractor-trailer stopped at the proposed traffic signal there could gain enough traction on a snow-covered roadway to get rolling again.
Then Cote, who was sitting on the stage in the gymnasium at Gilbert Elementary School, fell over backward, hitting the stage floor with a thud.
Audience members rushed to his aid, and Jeff Bilodeau started doing cardio-pulmonary resuscitation.
The 100 or so people who had come to the hearing moved from the gymnasium into a corridor when Augusta Rescue crews arrived.
Cote was identified by a friend and neighbor, Andrew Coulombe, who was one of those who moved to help him, and later said the two had graduated from Messalonskee High School together in 1981.
In light of the emergency, the organizers called off the remainder of the meeting.
Ernie Martin, project manager for the roadway improvements that would allow full east-west access to Exit 113, said he and other DOT officials involved would schedule a question-and-answer session in the next week or two at Augusta City Center.
Cote had asked the first question after state highway officials and others finished an explanation of what was going to happen to the roadways.
Martin described both the congestion of Exit 112, where Interstate 95 intersects with Civic Center Drive in the middle of a busy retail area, and the plans that began in earnest in 2008 to try to ease that traffic.
The successful proposal proved to be a plan that would use two traffic circles to improve access to and from Exit 113 and bring Route 3 along Old Belgrade Road to connect with Route 27.
The changes also are aimed at allowing motorists more convenient access to the $312 million regional hospital under construction by MaineGeneral Medical Center on Old Belgrade Road and next door to the Harold Alfond Center for Cancer Care.
Plans call for wider shoulders along Old Belgrade Road and improvements at intersections with
Middle and Bog roads as well as a traffic signal at Route 27 and at the entrance to the new hospital.
Other changes will allow Old Belgrade Road to intersect with Route 27 at more of a 90-degree angle, Martin said.
John Manzer, a senior designer with the state highway program, said traffic is projected to increase 47 percent over the next 20 years on Old Belgrade Road and Route 27.
In 2012, some 8,260 vehicles will travel on Old Belgrade Road; in 2032, that figure is expected to reach 12,130.
In 2012, some 11,400 vehicles will travel on Route 27, and projections show that number will reach 16,700 in 20 years.
Part of the proposal calls for improvements to both roads and lower speed limits in the area. The speed limit on Old Belgrade Road will be 35 mph, and the speed on Route 27 will be lowered to 45 mph under the plan.
Prior to the meeting, which lasted one hour, Evelyn and Donald Poulin, who live along Old Belgrade Road, said they’re concerned about noise from braking trucks.
Other people who own property along the affected roads carefully checked a large, colorful map which showed the area affected as well as the two rotaries — designed by Ourston Roundabout Engineering of Wisconsin — to enable traffic to flow with few interruptions.
Early in his presentation, Martin asked that individual property owners with concerns speak to staff after the public meeting. After the abbreviated meeting, he said those questions can be asked at the rescheduled meeting.
He asked that anyone with comments fill out a comment card that was available at the meeting.
Martin said construction will be scheduled alongside that of the hospital, with the intent of completing it just before the hospital’s projected summer 2014 opening.
Road construction costs were estimated at $11 million, and the project has $10.8 million in funding.
Betty Adams — 621-5631
badams@centralmaine.com
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