A state concept for downtown Wiscasset that would have included a boardwalk has received a lot of local interest this winter, even though the state has maintained it is off the table; but the town has done its own look into a possible boardwalk. And now that concept is planned to be the subject of discussion at a Wiscasset Waterfront Committee meeting on April 7.

The boardwalk would potentially connect the recreational and commercial piers with Route 1, according to a preliminary design report; building it would not involve moving Red’s Eats, Town Planner Jamel Torres said at his office Monday.

Maine Department of Transportation officials have said that the MDOT concept for a pedestrian underpass and a boardwalk was no longer being considered because it did involve a Red Eat’s move and Red’s Eats decided that would not be in its best interest. Instead, MDOT has been working on what an official described as a less glamorous alternative that could include traffic controls and pattern changes.

Torres noted Monday that the boardwalk concept up for an airing next month is in the very early stages of a process that would need to involve pre-planning, planning and funding. The committee could eventually decide to take a proposal to selectmen to consider, he said.

The engineering firm Wright-Pierce developed the boardwalk preliminary design report for the town, with help from town staff, the town attorney, MDOT, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission, the report states.

The town and the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry’s Shore and Harbor Technical Assistance Grant Program funded the work, according to the report. A 1990 riverfront study, 2002 economic development recommedations, a 2009 Railroad Avenue engineering report and a 2010 bicycle and pedestrian plan all identified a need for greater access to the waterfront, the report continues.

It projects the costs for three different options: $800,000 for a 15-foot-wide, onshore boardwalk; $680,000 for a 15-foot-wide boardwalk over the Sheepscot River; or $120,000 for a six-foot-wide, at-grade, paved walkway. The report lists state grant programs the town could apply to, and possible sources of local matches including capital improvement funds and in-kind matches; those could include town labor or community donations of services, the report states.

A time and location for the April 7 meeting will be announced.