An Act to Provide for Safe Roadway Construction Design Criteria
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 1711
Committee: Transportation
Sponsors: MALON, ANKELES, CRAFTS, KUHN, LEE, O'CONNELL, SHEEHAN
Amends: 23 MRSA §73, 23 MRSA §76

Legislative Document
No. 1711
H.P. 1100
House of Representatives, April 18, 2023
An Act to Provide for Safe Roadway Construction Design Criteria
Reference to the Committee on Transportation suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative MALON of Biddeford.
Cosponsored by Representatives: ANKELES of Brunswick, CRAFTS of Newcastle, KUHN of 
Falmouth, LEE of Auburn, O'CONNELL of Brewer, SHEEHAN of Biddeford.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  23 MRSA §73, sub-§7, as amended by PL 2021, c. 239, §1, is further 
amended to read:
7.  Priorities, service levels, asset management goals and reporting.  The 
Department of Transportation shall classify the State's public highways as Priority 1 to 
Priority 5 using factors such as safety metrics, crash data, the federal functional 
classification system, local economic significance based on a value per acre analysis, 
regional economic significance, heavy haul truck use and relative regional traffic volumes.  
The department shall also establish customer service levels related to safety, condition and 
serviceability appropriate to the priority of the highway, resulting in a system that grades 
each highway as Good, Fair or Poor.
To provide a capital transportation program that is geographically balanced and that 
addresses urban and rural needs and meets customer expectations and transportation system 
needs, the department shall include the following goals as part of its asset management and 
work plan preparation.  The goals are to:
A-1.  Maintain Priority 1 highways in accordance with the department's federally 
required transportation asset management plan and the department's customer service 
measures so that no more than 15% of the highways are rated as Poor;
B-1.  Maintain Priority 2 and Priority 3 highways so that no more than 15% of the 
highways are rated as Poor; and
D.  Continue the light capital paving program on a 7-year cycle for Priority 4 highways 
outside compact areas as defined in section 754.
The department shall report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having 
jurisdiction over transportation matters by March 1st of each odd-numbered year 
quantifying the status of each of the goals.  The department shall recommend any remedial 
actions, including additional funding or revisions to the goals, that the department 
determines to be necessary or appropriate.
Sec. 2.  23 MRSA §76 is enacted to read:
§76.  Transportation construction project review and design criteria
1. Project review. As part of a permit application for a transportation construction 
project or upon reaching 25% completion of the design of a transportation construction 
project, the department shall review the design of the project based upon the controlling 
criteria in subsection 2.
2. Controlling criteria. The department shall apply design standards for the following 
controlling criteria to a transportation construction project under subsection 1: 
A. Pedestrian facilities;
B. Bicycle facilities;
C. Design speed;
D. Shoulder width;
E. Lane width;
F. Public transit provisions;
G. Roadway ramp length;
H. Design loading structural capacity;
I. Horizontal curve radius;
J. Superelevation rate. For purposes of this paragraph, "superelevation" means the bank 
of a curved portion of a road that allows fast-moving vehicles to travel the curve safely 
and with stability;
K. Stopping sight distance;
L. Maximum grade;
M. Cross slope; and
N. Vertical clearance. 
3. Review process. Upon receipt of a design submission for a transportation 
construction project, the project manager of the department shall forward a copy of the 
design to the chair of the design review committee under subsection 4 and internal design 
reviewers in the department for review and approval. The design may require further 
approval by the Commissioner of Transportation, the chief engineer of the department and 
the United States Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration. If the 
design meets all applicable design standards for the controlling criteria under subsection 2, 
department staff may review and approve the design as a normal part of the project delivery 
process. If the design does not meet an applicable design standard for a controlling 
criterion, the design must be approved by the chief engineer of the department.
4. Design review committee. The design review committee with respect to a 
transportation construction project design submitted under subsection 3 consists of the 
department regional manager overseeing the project and the following 6 members 
appointed by the Commissioner of Transportation:
A. Two urban designers;
B. One municipal economic development director;
C. Two staff members of the department’s planning bureau; and
D. One bicycle or pedestrian safety advocate representing a statewide organization that 
represents or advocates for bicycle or pedestrian safety.
The regional manager is the chair of the committee.  The design review committee shall 
review and approve project designs submitted under subsection 3 and provide 
recommendations for design standards for controlling criteria under subsection 2.
5. Exemptions. Upon application to the department, a person that submits a 
transportation construction project design under subsection 3 may receive an exemption 
from a design standard under subsection 2. The exemption must be based upon a 
documented need for a variance despite all reasonable efforts to design the project under 
the standard. A cost related to a standard that is less than 20% of the total project cost may 
not be the sole cause for an exemption under this subsection. The following projects are 
exempt from the standards under this section without requiring an application for an 
exemption under this subsection:
A. Pavement preservation activities solely to maintain the roadway surface or bridge 
structure, as long as the accident history of the location does not indicate any apparent 
geometric deficiency, including:
(1) Crack sealing;
(2) Fog sealing;
(3) Chip sealing; and
(4) Rubber chip sealing;
B. Bridge preservation or maintenance treatments solely to maintain the roadway 
surface or bridge structure, as long as the accident history of the location does not 
indicate any apparent geometric deficiency, including:
(1) Joint repair;
(2) Deck repair;
(3) Superstructure repair; and 
(4) Substructure repair;
C. A nonroadway maintenance action, including:
(1) Mowing;
(2) Catch basin cleaning; and 
(3) Street sweeping;
D. Vertical construction;
E. A nonvehicle access permit; and
F. The singular activity of the construction or maintenance of:
(1) Drainage;
(2) A noise barrier;
(3) A guardrail;
(4) Lighting;
(5) Traffic signal equipment;
(6) Signs; or
(7) Landscaping.
6. Rules. The department shall adopt rules to carry out the purposes of this section. 
Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules under Title 5, chapter 
375, subchapter 2-A.
Sec. 3.  Department of Transportation to adopt rules to establish standards 
for transportation construction project review and design criteria. The 
Department of Transportation shall adopt rules to establish standards for transportation 
construction project review and design criteria under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 23, 
section 76, subsection 2 and otherwise carry out the purposes of Title 23, section 76.
1. In establishing standards under this section, the department shall consult and base 
the standards on standards and guidance provided in the latest editions of the following 
publications:
A. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Guide 
for the Development of Bicycle Facilities;
B. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Guide 
for the Planning, Design, and Operation of Pedestrian Facilities;
C. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Guide 
for Geometric Design of Transit Facilities on Highways and Streets;
D. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, A Guide 
for Achieving Flexibility in Highway Design;
E. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, A Policy 
on Design Standards-Interstate System;
F. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, A Policy 
on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets;
G. The United States Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, 
Guide for Achieving Multimodal Networks;
H. The United States Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, 
Small Town and Rural Multimodal Networks Guide;
I. The United States Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, 
Revisions to the Controlling Criteria for Design and Documentation for Design 
Exceptions;
J. The National Association of City Transportation Officials, Urban Street Design 
Guide;
K. The National Association of City Transportation Officials, Urban Bikeway Design 
Guide; and
L. The National Association of City Transportation Officials, Transit Street Design 
Guide.
2. In developing standards for pedestrian facilities under Title 23, section 76, 
subsection 2, paragraph A, the department shall design standards that provide facilities that 
are accessible to all users under all state and federal laws, rules and regulations. In addition 
to guidance from the publications under subsection 1, in particular the publication under 
subsection 1, paragraph B, the department shall develop standards for pedestrian facilities, 
including sidewalks, shared-use paths and side paths, pursuant to the United States 
Department of Justice 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design and the United States 
Department of Transportation 2006 ADA Standards for Transportation Facilities.  The 
standards must also provide that:
A. If the roadway is in a growth area as defined in Title 30-A, section 4301, subsection 
6-C, pedestrian facilities must be located on both sides of the roadway;
B. For a bridge project where a pedestrian is legally allowed, including the roadway 
underneath the bridge, the minimum width of a pedestrian facility must be 5 feet and 
must include a physical buffer of at least one foot on any roadway with a posted speed 
limit of over 25 miles per hour. A minimum width under this paragraph may not include 
the curb width or physical buffer width;
C. A transportation construction project may include a single pedestrian facility on only 
one side of the roadway if the sidewalk is a minimum of 6 feet with a one-foot buffer. 
A minimum width under this paragraph may not include the curb width or physical 
buffer width;
D. Other than a shared-use path or side path, a pedestrian facility may not include the 
width intended for bicycle travel;
E. A marked crosswalk must be provided across every leg of a signalized intersection 
where a sidewalk is present or proposed;
F. A marked crosswalk must be provided at an existing crosswalk regardless of the 
existence of a sidewalk; and
G. A utility pole or other physical barrier may not be constructed in a sidewalk.
3. In developing standards for bicycle facilities under Title 23, section 76, subsection 
2, paragraph B, in addition to guidance from the publications under subsection 1, in 
particular the publications under subsection 1, paragraphs A and K, the department shall 
develop standards for bicycle facilities, including shared-use paths, side paths, physically 
separated bicycle lanes and buffered bicycle lanes, pursuant to the Massachusetts Highway 
Department, Project Development and Design Guide, chapters 5 and 11 and other states' 
documents, policies and guidance as needed or appropriate.  The standards must also 
provide that:
A. Remnant pavement space, including an unprotected roadway shoulder, may not be 
considered a bicycle facility or part of a bicycle facility;
B. Bicycle facilities must be provided on both sides of a roadway where a bicycle is 
allowed, except for a roadway classified as local;
C. A bicycle facility must be provided on at least one side of a roadway if:
(1) The roadway has a posted speed limit of at least 30 miles per hour;
(2) The roadway has a volume of traffic of at least 10,000 vehicles per day;
(3) The roadway has more than one travel lane in a single direction; or
(4) The roadway has a high potential for everyday bicycling as determined by the 
department;
D. A bicycle facility must be provided on at least one side of a roadway at an 
intersection with more than one travel lane in a single direction; and
E. Bicycle facilities must meet minimum design standards, including:
(1) A shared-use path must have a minimum width of 10 feet;
(2) A separated 2-way bicycle lane must have a minimum width of 8 feet; and
(3) A physically separated one-way bicycle lane, buffered bicycle lane and side 
path must have a minimum width of 5 feet.
A minimum width under this paragraph may not include a buffer zone.
SUMMARY
This bill concerns safe roadway construction design criteria and does the following.
1. It adds safety metrics, crash data and local economic significance based on a value 
per acre analysis as factors in the Department of Transportation classification of state 
highway priority levels.
2. It establishes transportation construction project design controlling criteria subject 
to Department of Transportation review and establishes a review process, including a 
review committee, and exemptions. The bill directs the Department of Transportation to 
establish by rule standards for the controlling criteria based upon certain publications of 
the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, the National 
Association of City Transportation Officials, the United States Department of Justice, the 
United States Department of Transportation and the Massachusetts Highway Department.
3. It provides specific direction to the Department of Transportation in adopting by rule 
standards for pedestrian facilities, which include sidewalks, shared-use paths and side 
paths, and bicycle facilities, which include shared-use paths, side paths, physically 
separated bicycle lanes and buffered bicycle lanes.