NORWAY — The state has approved money for an $800,000 overhaul of lower Main Street.

If the local share of approximately $400,000 is approved, the project is expected to begin in the summer of 2015, Town Manager David Holt said Wednesday. It will address ongoing drainage issues, old sewer lines and total reconstruction of the street.

That section runs from the Second Congregational Church to near Aubuchon Hardware. It contains a mixture of commercial and residential properties, anchored by Stephens Memorial Hospital.

“It’s going to be a pretty big project, but one the town has wanted for a very long time,” Holt said.

Selectman Russ Newcomb said the project may further enhance the area where commercial buildings have undergone renovations.

Holt said he will ask voters to approve a $1.2 million bond at the June annual town meeting, of which $400,000 would go toward the Lower Main Street project. The remaining $800,000 will go toward other road projects.

The town is about to pay off a $1 million bond, which would make securing another bond easier, Holt said.

Holt said officials will begin planning for the project if voters OK the bond.

“We need to plan for it in the coming year to be ready,” he said.

Holt said the planning process could involve putting a camera down the sewer lines to check their condition. It is believed the lines date from the 1960s.

The majority of the in-town sewer lines dated from 1913 and were made of clay. They have been replaced over the past 10 years. The new plastic pipe is expected to last 100 years.

That work was done primarily with grant money from applications written by Sewer Department Superintendent Shawn Brown and Holt, and bonding that voters approved.

ldixon@sunjournal.com