After two years, the extensive $17.8 million rebuild of 2 miles of Route 1 through downtown Searsport is nearing its end.
Roads have been repaved, new traditional-style street lamps are in place, and old asphalt sidewalks have been replaced with brick and granite that extend further down the corridor.
Local officials argue that the project will bring long-term benefits as the town continues a recent period of redevelopment, both downtown and where the state is trying to create a port facility for offshore wind development.
But the on-and-off renovations over the last two years have taken a toll on downtown businesses, straining their ability to sell products or services. One of the biggest obstacles was the reduction of traffic on Route 1 to one-lane for the last two summers and a lengthy detour around downtown for southbound drivers.
Now that the project is almost over, some business owners are questioning whether the long-term improvements to Searsport were worth the disruptions. A few of them said the changes will be a net positive for downtown, but others aren’t sold on the trade-off.
Rob Martell, who expects to open the new Maine Port Brewery in November after he finishes renovations to his own property, said he delayed the start of his business due to the construction and that there are still some lingering disruptions. But overall, he said that he’s optimistic.
“We still have flaggers every day, stopping traffic, so that just makes it a hassle to get through here,” he said. “But eventually, it’s going to pay off because it really does look good.”
Kalaa Wilson, who opened Blushing Moon Beauty salon just more than a year ago, said she hasn’t faced any great struggles during the construction. She said the fences and excavation work were “a little scary” and disorienting, but if anything, she may have gotten more new customers.
“It increased my foot traffic because a lot of the locals found it easier to be able to just walk down, to come and have their hair cut, have their kids’ hair cut, so that actually helped me quite a bit,” Wilson said.
While the project has been difficult for other business owners and area residents, Wilson said that the roads and sidewalks were desperately in need of repairs, and that she’s excited for the new street lamps that will illuminate the area for pedestrians at night.
“That’s going to be major this winter when it gets dark [earlier]. Before, we were just relying on the lighting from the businesses,” Wilson said. “It will be nice for clients and people coming in and out to have a little bit more light, too.”
Other businesses did not ride the wave of construction as easily as Wilson’s salon did.
In an extreme case, a longtime downtown grocery store, Tozier’s Family Supermarket, closed in July, in large part because of what the owner said was a shortage of customers due to the construction. The store is now reopening under new owners, Edwards Brother Supermarkets of Unity.
Searsport Laundry Center lost an estimated 40 percent of its business during the construction period, which made it hard for it to stay open, according to manager Scott Dakin. For now, he does not think the project was worth the setback.
“Not yet,” Dakin said. “People are still avoiding the town. There won’t be as many coming if they’re anticipating the detour. They don’t realize the town is open.”
Jen Wenz, the owner and manager of Aquarian Gift & Consignment Shop, said the road construction has made it hard to recover business that was originally lost during the pandemic, and that the store has been in danger of closing several times.
With the difficulty getting customers in the door, Wenz has turned to creative means in order to stay afloat, such as online auction of merchandise last winter.
“Even now that we have our two-way traffic, people are not really in the loop of all the latest. We’ll be looking towards better business and the community coming back,” Wenz said.
However, while the construction project has been a big challenge to the store’s bottom line, Wenz noted that it was long overdue.
“The beautification, and the improvements of the sidewalks, has been needed for well over 25 years,” Wentz said.
