The biggest change in MaineDOT's draft plan for Gray Village is a 500-foot section of Center Road that would be dead-ended. Two new short roads would then send traffic around the village intersection. MaineDOT's project information sheet says Center Road "will be dead ended to remove the traffic from the village intersection," and that the two connector routes exist to ease congestion on U.S. Route 202.
Most of the rest of the plan works the same way. The proposals cut down on curb cuts, turn angled road junctions into simple T-shaped ones and move traffic onto side routes. These draft plans go before the public at the Gray Town Office on Tuesday, October 13, and the online comment period runs through October 28.
The Center Road Move
MaineDOT describes the core problem in plain terms. Route 202 "was never designed to serve as both a local street dotted with businesses and a through-route for travelers heading to New Gloucester and other destinations," and Routes 26 and 115 face the same strain. The agency calls the current setup "a dangerous and inefficient U.S. highway bottleneck."
Under the draft, the bypass has three parts:
- A new one-way road, about 300 feet long, from Route 202 to Center Road, with a stop sign where it meets Center Road.
- Center Road rebuilt for 500 feet and dead-ended before it reaches the village intersection.
- A new two-way road, about 375 feet long, from Center Road to Route 26/100, Portland Road, with stop signs at both ends.
Together these give drivers a way between Route 202 and Portland Road that skips the center of the village. MaineDOT's open-house notice calls them new town-way bypass connections linking Route 202 through Center Road to Route 26/100/4.
Brown Street gets the same treatment on the east side. A new two-way connector, about 200 feet long, would link Brown Street to Yarmouth Road. The information sheet calls it "an urban street to provide business access" and says the Brown Street redesign aims to encourage motorists to use Route 115.
Street by Street
The full scope covers 2.03 miles of road. Here is what the information sheet proposes for each piece.
| Road | Length | Proposed change |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Route 202, Main Street and West Gray Road | 0.78 miles, Turnpike northbound ramps to Wayne Avenue | Full-width rebuild, new drainage, new or rebuilt ADA-compliant sidewalks, on-street parking, fewer driveway openings, new signal systems at both village intersections |
| Route 115, Yarmouth Road | 0.67 miles east of the village intersection | Rebuild, new drainage, sidewalks on both sides, fewer driveway openings |
| Route 26/100, Portland Road | 600 feet, from the new connector to the village intersection | Rebuild, new drainage, sidewalks on both sides, fewer driveway openings |
| Brown Street | 675 feet | Rebuild, T-shaped junction with Yarmouth Road, sidewalks on one or both sides, on-street parking |
| Shaker Road | 200 feet | Realigned to line up with Brown Street, shorter crosswalks, better sight lines, rebuilt sidewalks |
| Colley Hill Road | 150 feet | Realigned into a T-shaped junction with Route 202 for better sight lines |
| Center Road | 500 feet | Rebuilt and dead-ended at the village |
The plan also adds about 1,900 feet of new multi-use path between Colley Hill Road and Wayne Avenue.
One line appears on almost every row: "access management by closing, consolidating or reducing driveway openings." Along Route 202, Portland Road, Yarmouth Road and Brown Street, that means fewer places where cars turn in and out of individual lots. The Brown Street connector and on-street parking on Route 202 and Brown Street are the plan's ways to keep businesses reachable as those driveways are combined. Owners along these roads have the most reason to study the parcel-level drawings.
The Signals Stay, and the Monument Stays Put
The information sheet calls for replacing the aging traffic signals at both village intersections with smart signals, and for stop signs at the new connectors. MaineDOT's project page lists the goals as simpler, better-defined intersection movements, signalized and shorter pedestrian crossings, and fewer unnecessary intersection legs.
The Shaker Road realignment comes with a note that matters to anyone attached to the center of town. "The actual town monument will not be impacted, but landscaping modifications are anticipated."
The town's project StoryMap shows an earlier idea for Gray Corner. In that sketch, wide slip lanes and paved shoulder near the Historic Society and the former fire station become civic space. The StoryMap labels those drawings as concepts, not construction plans. The comment period covers the 2026 MaineDOT drawings presented on October 13.
The Layout Gets Set in January 2027
People in Gray have been weighing in on this for four years. The StoryMap says more than 200 people took part in Village Design Week in June and July 2022, and members of the business community critiqued early sketches at a February 2024 workshop.
Interest held up in 2026. At the March 4 open house, according to the Portland Press Herald, Communications Director Kyle Hadyniak had told Lakes Region Now he would be happy with 50 attendees. His expectations were passed in less than 20 minutes.
Here is the schedule on MaineDOT's project page:
- March 4, 2026: open house
- October 13, 2026: preliminary public meeting, 6 to 8 p.m., Gray Town Office, Henry Pennell Municipal Complex, 24 Main Street
- October 14 to 28, 2026: online meeting and comment period
- January 2027: horizontal and vertical alignment complete
- February or March 2028: preliminary design report
- After that: milestone dates to be determined
MaineDOT says the project "is currently funded through final PDR," the preliminary design report. Construction dates aren't set. The January 2027 alignment milestone is when road geometry gets fixed: where the connectors go, how Shaker Road lines up with Brown Street, and where the Colley Hill Road T lands. That makes the next two weeks the most useful time to comment on the layout.
The money side has two figures. The information sheet puts the total project cost at $31.25 million, including design, engineering, right of way and construction, with MaineDOT and the Town of Gray splitting the 20 percent local match of $6.25 million equally. The Town says voters approved Article 9 in June 2026, which lets the Town Council use TIF revenue for up to 10 percent of the total cost. The Town currently estimates that share at $3.5 million, a bit more than 10 percent of the $31.25 million on MaineDOT's sheet, so the two documents appear to use different cost estimates.
This Fall Runs on the Old Roads
None of this changes how you get around this season. That means the usual October routines still go through the village as it is.
The Maine Wildlife Park is open daily through November 11. Starting October 15, the gate closes at 3:30 p.m., and visitors already inside can stay until 5 p.m. A late-afternoon visit after school or work needs an earlier start than it did in September.
Pineland Farms holds its Harvest Festival on October 17 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It has a five-acre corn maze, pumpkins, food trucks, farm animals and agricultural demonstrations. Tickets are $8 per person, and children two and under get in free. The maze and pumpkin patch are open daily through November 1, with farm hours of 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Pineland also lists evening corn maze events on October 23, 24, 29 and 30. The October 23 night runs from 6 to 8 p.m. for $8, and its event page asks for advance registration, flashlights and adult supervision.
Closer to the project area, the Hannaford at 130 Shaker Road has finished a 12,000-square-foot expansion. It added larger fresh-food departments, a bigger parking lot, a second entrance and a private pharmacy consultation room, News Center Maine reported. Gray Public Library at 5 Hancock Street and Fiddlehead Art and Science Center at 25 Shaker Road are on their usual routes too.
The draft drawings are linked from the MaineDOT project page, and the online comment period closes October 28. The Town says the plans "remain preliminary and are subject to further review and refinement."
If you own a home or business along Route 202, Portland Road, Yarmouth Road or Brown Street, the driveway and access changes in this plan may affect how you think about your property over the next several years. The team at KW Lifestyle Properties follows projects like this one closely. We're happy to talk through what the village plan means for your street, or put together a free home valuation that reflects where Gray is headed. Book an appointment whenever it suits you.
