Filming will cause delays in Skowhegan
Copyright © 2003 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
SKOWHEGAN — When filming begins on the HBO movie "Empire Falls" next month, motorists should be prepared to roll a little slower through town.
The film version of former Waterville author Richard Russo's Pulitzer Prize-winning story about a down-at-the-heels mill town will require police to temporarily close all or parts of some heavily traveled streets to traffic, sometimes on only a few hours notice.
In many towns, that might not be a big deal, but in downtown Skowhegan, where two of the state's busiest highways — U.S. Routes 201 and 2 — merge, it's likely to produce some frayed tempers.
An estimated 24,000 to 26,000 vehicles, including 1,800 heavy trucks, roll through the downtown every day. Madison Avenue alone sees an estimated 21,000 vehicles a day.
"It will be an inconvenience, certainly. But we do have alternative routes that will let people get to their destinations, albeit with some delays," Police Chief Butch Asselin said.
"We're stressing to people to allow themselves an extra 15 to 20 minutes or possibly more, depending on the location of the filming."
State transportation crews also plan to remove directional signs in parts of the downtown. And signs with Skowhegan on them would be replaced by ones for Empire Falls, Russo's fictional town.
The movie is being filmed in Skowhegan, Waterville and other Maine towns, but some of the major sets are in Skowhegan, including a diner now being retrofitted on Water Street.
It's been a frustrating year for Skowhegan motorists. A sewer project on Waterville Road led to long traffic backups for several months. On Monday, crews began a paving and curbing replacement project on West Front Street and Waterville Road that is expected to play havoc with traffic flow on U.S. Routes 201 and 2 on the south side of town through mid-October.
The Empire Falls filming will begin in Skowhegan sometime during the week of Sept. 8 and continue off and on through October, Asselin said.
It will be concentrated in three areas: Water Street in the downtown, Water Street in front of Redington Memorial Home, and on Island Avenue, Asselin said.
Empire Falls crews have been renovating Patrick's Pizza Joint on Water Street as Miles Roby's Empire Falls Diner. Roby, played by actor Ed Harris, is one of the major characters in the book and film.
Filming will also be done at Redington Memorial Home, a retirement home; the town office; and in the old district court offices above Variety Drug downtown; and at Solon Manufacturing's Island Avenue plant.
Asselin said he can't release a schedule for filming because there is too much chance it will change. He said he plans to contract major employers and radio stations in advance to get the word out about detours. "We're going to try to provide at least 12 hours notice," he said.
In the case of filming on Water Street, Asselin said police officers will simply reroute east and westbound traffic around the downtown on side streets and make traffic on lower Madison Avenue south of Commercial Street two-way.
He notes that is something the police department has had to do routinely during parades and festivals. "It's nothing that we haven't seen before," he said. "It will be just like an unplanned event."
However, filming on Island Avenue, where the Margaret Chase Smith Bridges carry Route 201 and 2 traffic over the Kennebec River, is another thing.
In that case motorists would be rerouted to the nearest other bridges — in Hinckley to the southeast and Norridgewock to the west. Emergency vehicles would be allowed to cross, Asselin said.
He said that while crews are filming on Island Avenue the police department will station an officer and a cruiser on each side of the river. He said he will recommend that fire and emergency medical crews take similar measures simply to cut down on response time.
Asselin said despite the traffic headaches, the filming "is a real positive thing for Skowhegan. In fact, I'm looking forward to the cast and crew starting to film in the area. The Falls Films people have been great to work with.
Joe Rankin — 474-9534, Ext. 341
jrankin@centralmaine.com