Wiscasset has snagged $20,000 in federal funds to explore a possible boardwalk to link the creamery and recreational piers.

The boardwalk would aid pedestrians' waterfront access, including access to the town's public bathrooms, Wiscasset Town Planner Misty Parker said.

More than a year ago, selectmen made the boardwalk idea a priority for the waterfront committee, Parker said.

The money will go to preliminary engineering and design work to see if the project would be feasible, town officials said.

“It's been a project of interest and we've had a lot of public input from folks wanting to see a connection (between the piers),” Parker said.

The town put $5,000 in this year's budget as the local match for the grant, Town Manager Laurie Smith said.

The study should be done by the end of the summer, Smith said. If the idea still looks good, the town could then seek grants to help cover construction. It would cost more than the town could afford on its own, she said.

The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration gets the federal dollars to towns via the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry's Maine Coastal Program. Other grants are going to Rockland, Kittery, Eliot, Lubec, Perry and Pembroke, according to a department press release.

“Commercial and public access to Maine’s coastline is important for fishermen, businesses that rely on tourism and public enjoyment of our natural resources,” Gov. Paul LePage said in the January 10 press release. “These projects will promote local access and economic activity along the Maine coast.”