An ongoing revitalization of downtown Biddeford is entering a new phase this month, with new roads being finished, railway and utility projects in the mill district moving forward and continued work on an extension of the Eastern Trail. 

This collection of projects complements revitalization efforts that have been going on in the city for the past 10 years.

“These projects that are getting started now are designed around connecting all the pieces together,” said Danica Lamontagne, the city’s spokesperson.

The city’s downtown, particularly the mill district, has been in a near-constant state of renovation for a decade — sparked by Casella Waste Systems’ 2012 decision to sell its Maine Energy Recovery Co. (MERC) property to the city.

Since the last of the city’s industrial companies departed the mill area, Biddeford has been involved in at least six different projects, including adding new sidewalks and pedestrian bridges, and other improvements geared toward making the downtown area more walkable, according to a presentation city manager James Bennett made on Feb. 8.

Some of the new projects moving forward this year, Lamontagne said, include finishing renovations to the MERC property, expansion of the Riverwalk project and adding new bicycle and pedestrian connections to Rotary Park and Barra Road.

Recently, the city council has also moved two key road reconstruction projects forward. The council accepted a bid on March 1 for a redesign of the intersection of Hill, Water and Main streets. And in February, the council also put out to bid another project to redevelop roads and utilities on Pearl Street. Both projects, Lamontagne said, are slated to begin as soon as weather allows.

The Pearl Street road work is happening at the same time as developers build a riverside park and more mixed-use development on the MERC property, according to Lamontagne.

Officials are also awaiting results of a study examining traffic issues in the city’s Route 111 corridor. The study, expected to be finished by the end of 2022, will focus on key intersections with Route 111, including Exit 32 off the Maine Turnpike, which leads drivers to the Biddeford Connector.

This week, Lamontagne said city officials do not expect ongoing revitalization efforts to clash with any recommendations that may come out of the study.

“We’re considering all the different pieces,” she said.

Not all projects are city-funded. 

One project making headway involves the Eastern Trail, a 65-mile stretch of bicycle and pedestrian-friendly trails, both on and off-road, that connect communities from Kittery to South Portland. In Biddeford and Saco, the trail has a three-mile stretch that runs right along state routes in both cities.

“It’s currently (an) on-road trail. We’re doing a feasibility study to take (the trail) off-road,” Eastern Trail Alliance Executive Director Jon Kachmar said.

Kachmar said the study, which will be concluded within the next few weeks, is expected to confirm the best way to relocate the trail to existing rail lines and rail spurs that run through both cities. Segments of the trail often run along rail lines, Kachmar said, and most rail lines have plenty of space on both sides to arrange for a safe off-road pedestrian trail.

“There are a lot of easements where you can get quite a distance (between rail lines and the trail),” he said.

It will be at least a year before the alliance can break ground on the trail’s relocation. Kachmar said funding will come from the alliance, with matching funds from the federal government.

“This is a pretty big project, and I suspect we’ll be doing it in pieces,” he said.