BIW advances major Bath parking, street redesign plan
BIW’s plan would add 940 parking spaces, reshape Washington Street and bring more construction to Bath neighborhoods already wary of overflow traffic.
More workers, more cars and more pressure on Bath’s Washington Street corridor are coming into view as Bath Iron Works pushes ahead with a parking and street redesign that would change the landscape around the shipyard for years.
At a community meeting at the Maine Maritime Museum on May 11, BIW laid out a two-phase plan that starts with parking and traffic flow, then adds a new office building for the supervisor of shipbuilding, or SUPSHIP, along with further Washington Street upgrades. The first phase centers on a new parking garage and related lot work, while the second phase would add the SUPSHIP building and additional street changes.
The proposed garage would hold 940 vehicles, about 640 more spaces than the current parking area, and would rise four levels above grade with two levels below. BIW first said on March 19, 2025 that it would seek city approval for parking and transportation improvements along the Washington Street corridor, and the company targeted completion of the broader project by 2028.
For Bath, the question is not just where to fit more cars. The Washington Street changes are meant to handle peak driving demand with three lanes, while BIW also is moving ahead with several other parking projects at once. Those include the Fisher Court expansion, South Gate lot work and a paved Centre Street lot with EV charging stations.
The city had already approved the site plan in March, and Bath also approved amendments to its Land Use Code on September 3, 2025, making it easier for BIW to submit parking plans in the corridor. Individual projects still must go through Bath Planning Board review, leaving key approvals and the full public cost picture still unresolved.
Traffic remains the central concern for nearby residents, who raised alarms during public information sessions in May 2025 about overflow traffic spilling into neighborhood streets, especially at shift changes. Residents worried the new parking pattern could worsen congestion and speeding in the South End if drivers cut through local streets to reach the shipyard.
The Fisher Court piece of the project has already started to take shape. On March 4, 2026, Bath City Council unanimously voted to discontinue a short segment of Fisher Court and sell that land to BIW for $15,500, clearing the way for an expanded lot between Fisher Court, Union Street and Wesley Street. BIW said construction began in late March and was set to finish at the beginning of August, adding 125 spaces to the existing 86.
The redevelopment also reaches into Bath’s history. BIW is still sorting historic artifacts removed before the demolition of the Wesley Methodist Church earlier this month, including copper finials, a copper weathervane and about 40 panes of stained glass set aside for Sagadahoc Preservation Inc. The preservation group, founded in 1971 to save the Winter Street Church and protect Bath’s architectural legacy, is handling the materials as the former church site gives way to a new phase of shipyard expansion.
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