MOUNT VERNON -- The Planning Board has given Camp Laurel its approval to build an underpass beneath Route 41.

The board voted unanimously to approve the project Tuesday after a public hearing. The project is subject to final approval from the Maine Department of Transportation.

Holly Dumaine was the only resident who raised concerns during the hearing, asking about traffic detours as well as drainage issues associated with the project's proximity to Echo Lake. However, Dumaine said she thought the underpass was a good idea. As a driver, she would "look forward to not competing with pedestrians and golf carts," she said.

Camp Laurel representative John Archard said the camp is hoping the underpass will address safety concerns, both for the public and for camp staff. The camp facility on the eastern shore of Echo Lake spans Route 41.

According to project engineer Robert Berry III of Main-Land Development Consultants Inc., a cement box 12 feet wide by 9 feet high would be installed under the road allowing access to camp property on both sides of Route 41 without crossing the roadway.

Berry showed the Planning Board a plan map for the construction process, including a gravel road that would be built across camp property to detour traffic. He said he estimates that Route 41 would be closed, with traffic detoured, for two to four weeks.

Berry and Archard said the affected sewction of the major route between Winthrop and Farmington is to be completely closed during the four-week work period, with a temporary gravel road to be routed across the camp property to serve as a detour. Berry and Archard said the state has offered a verbal approval for that plan.

In answer to questions about the safety of the finished project, Berry told the Planning Board the underpass is a pre-engineered structure designed for full truck load with each end on the road level blocked by guardrails and a chain-link fence.

He added that part of the approval process with MDOT requires a "performance guarantee" which dictates regular inspections for which Camp Laurel will be responsible and includes a clause for removal of the underpass should the camp cease operations.

In regard to winter road issues, Berry said that the underpass should not be more susceptible to heaving, or the road surface above it to icing, because of the additional drainage and fill planned as part of the project.

Archard said that while Camp Laurel intends to proceed with construction plans once final approval has been received, cost would be the deciding factor in completion of the project, adding that no estimates have yet been made.

Currently, construction is slated to begin in fall 2009.