A street view from Google Maps shows the Market Square intersection from the stop sign on Route 117. Google Maps

PARIS — The Maine Department of Transportation presented options for improving the intersection at Market Square during a recent public hearing at the Paris Fire Station.

Matt Drost, regional transportation planner with the department, discussed ways to improve traffic and decrease crashes at the of Routes 117 and 26.

Driver on Route 26 heading south and those on Route 117 have a stop sign. Those traveling north on Route 26 from Paris have the right of way.

Confusion usually arises when drivers headed north on Route 26 and not familiar with the intersection stop.

“It is gaining notoriety, but also it is confusing,” Drost said at the Sept. 9 hearing. “There are some improvements that can be made.”

A new signal or stop sign for Route 26 or a single-lane roundabout similar to ones in Auburn are two options, Drost said.

However, the cost-benefit for each plan is lower than the estimated price for either upgrade, therefore the intersection does not qualify for funding from the Maine DOT Bureau of Highway Safety, although it was identified as an “area of concern” in 2016.

“The reason nothing was pushed forward from the department is the safety funding that’s available needs to hit a certain cost-benefit ratio,” Drost said.

The average number of crashes per year at Market Square is about four, he said. Most of them result in only property damage and usually not personal injury. A signal at the intersection is estimated to reduce the crashes to 2.8 and a roundabout would drop them to 1.9.

However, the $400,000 for signal improvements and the estimated $4 million for a roundabout exceeds the savings these solutions would generate by making the intersection safer.

“This project, any of these alternatives, would not be elevated to the level where Maine DOT could fund it with our safety dollars. It’s just not feasible,” Drost said.

He suggested that the Paris Select Board direct Town Manager Natalie Andrews to work with the DOT through its Planning Partnership Initiative, which would start with a $130,000 engineering study and analysis. The study would take about 12-18 months and evaluate the intersection and make a recommendation for how to move forward with improving it, Drost said.

“We’d have a better understanding of where we’re going and what we want to do,” he said.

A satellite aerial view of the Market Square intersection in Paris shows where Route 117 and Route 26 meet. Google Maps

Paris residents voted to appropriate $150,000 for a Market Square project at the annual town meeting, Andrews said, which could be used for the initial study.

The Planning Partnership Initiative would split the cost of the project between the town and Maine DOT 50/50. Drost said this method would still be six or seven years down the road.

Route 26 is a highway corridor 1 priority for Maine DOT, Drost said when explaining the roundabout option.

“Getting vehicles through an intersection like this is critical,” he said. “Everything from logging trucks to gas trucks to buses and fire trucks.”

The inside of the roundabout is only a couple of feet in diameter, with a cobblestone apron that leaves “plenty of room,” he said.

“You get a great deal of compliance with people staying in the right lane and going in the right direction,” Drost said.

Any improvement would also include crosswalks and more signs and flashing beacons for pedestrians.

“We would make sure that your businesses remain open even during construction,” Drost said of any construction.

Historically, the intersection has been a “high-crash location,” according to Drost. However, crashes dropped out of this designation in 2023.

The Paris Select Board will next meet at the Town Office at 6 p.m. on Sept. 23.