An improvement project aimed at making a section of Cranberry Highway in East Wareham safer will not start until 2015.

Representatives from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) and the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD) updated the Board of Selectmen on the project during the board's meeting on Tuesday.

Representatives said that a public hearing about the design aspects of the project will be held at 7 p.m. on July 12 in the Town Hall cafeteria.

The project applies to the area of Cranberry Highway between the junction of Route 6 and Route 28 eastward to the Bourne town line.

Proposed work includes widening the road to create a four-lane highway with a raised median and shoulders for bicycles, the installation of curbing along the entire project length, the construction of sidewalks, and the regulation of traffic through signals.

The project aims to make the road safer in light of many fatalities that have occurred on the road, said Jim Hadfield, transportation planning manager for SRPEDD.

Hadfield said that the highway, in terms of its usage, has evolved into a local road rather than the official state highway it currently is.

"This is really a local road. … It doesn't have a lot of traversability as it did before Route 25 was built," Hadfield said.

Selectman Steve Holmes agreed.

"This is a local road," said Holmes, "Nobody goes through there … in the end, we're going to end up owning it."

MassDOT is asking the town to take ownership of the improved portion of Cranberry Highway after completion of the project.

That has been a point of contention between the Board of Selectmen and MassDOT, with Holmes in past meetings and Selectman Cara Winslow in Tuesday's meeting bringing up the cost of maintenance of the road if the town does take over the road.

"I'm a big fan of this project but I'm not a big fan of this discontinuance" of state ownership of the road, said Winslow. "I hope this is something that is not going to disappoint us."

The project will cost $10.5 million and will be completely funded with federal and state dollars, said Carrie Lavallee, project manager for MassDOT.

The project will take approximately two years to complete, Hadfield said.

In response to a question from Selectmen Alan Slavin about whether pushing the date to 2015 would affect the funding for the project, Hadfield said that funding for the project up through 2016 was secured.

He added that a federal "Transportation Bond Bill" which authorizes funds for projects such as the Cranberry Highway improvement has been temporarily renewed over past years, and that he hoped it would be permanently renewed once the political climate in Washington calmed down after the upcoming elections.

"We hope that after the November election … Congress will come to their senses, and pass a new Transportation Bond Bill," said Hadfield.

Hadfield also added after the meeting that the question of who takes ownership of the road shouldn't prevent the project from moving forward.

"The important thing here is that we get the road rebuilt, because it is a problem" in terms of safety, he said.

In other town business:

• Selectman Peter Teitelbaum took his seat on the Board of Selectmen for the first time during Tuesday's meeting. Teitelbaum had been waiting for special legislation authorizing his April 3 election win to pass through the Massachusetts legislature and the Governor's office. The legislation was signed by the governor last week and Teitelbaum was sworn into office on Friday, May 11.

• The members of the Dog Bylaw Committee, formed to draft a bylaw regarding barking and dangerous dogs, were appointed. The committee will consist of Selectman Peter Teitelbaum, Animal Control Officer Cheryl Gorveatt-Dill, and three citizens at large: Kenneth Levitt, Manfred Wiegandt, and former Selectman Walter Cruz.

• The Board of Selectmen approved the use of Shell Point Beach by the Onset Bay Association for the 4th of July Fireworks. The celebration will occur on Saturday, July 7 from 9:20 to 9:40 p.m., with a rain date of July 8.

• The Board of Selectmen approved the use of the Onset Bandshell and the Onset Bluffs by the Cape Verdean Festival Association for the Cape Verdean Festival, which will be held on Saturday, August 11 from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. with a rain date of August 12.