Construction for the redesign of Cape Elizabeth’s town center intersection will begin Monday, years after safety improvements were first considered.

The new design will bring the intersection of Scott Dyer Road, Shore Road and Route 77 to a 90-degree angle, add a pedestrian crosswalk, narrow the road and repave the surface. The design will not change the shoulder width, allowing through traffic to continue to pass turning cars. 

Once the project begins, it will take approximately six weeks to complete. There will be flaggers to direct traffic, and drivers can expect minor delays. 

The small portion of Scott Dyer Road that intersects with Ocean House Road will be closed for two days, tentatively Aug. 10 and 11. There will be detours, and updates will be posted on the town website. 

The plans for the town center intersection redesign. (Courtesy of Cape Elizabeth Public Works)

The state has historically considered this intersection a high-crash location. The town’s transportation study in 2020 found there had been 10 accidents at the intersection between 2016 and 2018, and the Maine Department of Transportation crash data indicates that there have been more than 30 accidents in that area since 2021. 

It’s a busy part of town, where people drive, walk and bike to schools, Thomas Memorial Library and shops. 

Route 77 is well-traveled in the summer, connecting tourists from Portland to scenic destinations like Fort Williams Park, Crescent Beach and Two Lights State Park.

In 2023, the town paid Sebago Technics to work on preliminary redesigns. The original option, which was ultimately approved by town council in September 2024, came in at $824,000. 

Some design changes lowered the cost to $679,435. A Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation System grant will cover $400,000 of the construction, and the rest will be paid for with funds raised by the town’s tax increment financing zone. There will be no impact for taxpayers. 

The project initially ran into roadblocks. 

When it was first put out to bid last January, the town received only one response, that was approximately $250,000 over budget. The project was repackaged with a lower scope and cost in March, and had received no bids by April. Public Works Director Jay Reynolds said the timing of the bid request – late in the construction season – made it harder to find any takers. 

The Portland Water District replaced the water main in the middle of the intersection over the summer. Still no bid had been awarded. 

Town staff worked with MDOT and PACTS to extend the grants into 2026, because initial terms stipulated that construction had to begin in 2025 for the funds to apply. 

Some community members have advocated for a roundabout in the area, arguing that it is more pedestrian- and bike-friendly.

But those designs were significantly more expensive, came without an immediate funding source, and involved a longer construction timeline. A roundabout at Scott Dyer Road was estimated to cost $2.4 million, a roundabout on Shore Road for $2.1 million and a peanut-shaped roundabout with two connected oblong loops for $2.6 million, and they were all estimated to take between three and five years to build. 

A project of that size – anything over $1 million – would have to go to a voter referendum, adding a layer of uncertainty when many councilors said that work on the intersection was already overdue.