Turnpike News
Maine Turnpike to Begin Portland Area Paving Project
Night Work Planned
PORTLAND—The Maine Turnpike Authority is gearing for a 7 mile pavement rehabilitation project from mile marker 44 in South Portland to mile marker 51 in Falmouth. The $3.7 million project, awarded to Pike Industries of Lewiston, Maine, will include the resurfacing of all four northbound and southbound lanes as well as the decks of two southbound bridges, four northbound bridges and guardrail upgrades within the project area.
Crews have already begun to set up roadway signage for the project. Milling operations are expected to begin on the southbound lanes during the first week of May. Until the milled surface is repaved, motorists will experience a rougher traveling surface, but no work will be conducted and no lane closures will be scheduled during the daytime hours. To avoid traffic tie-ups, the MTA is requiring the contractor to conduct all work at night between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. After June 15th, when tourism traffic volumes begin to increase, the contractor will be prohibited from conducting any work on Friday or Saturday.
“This is a busy area of the Turnpike and motorists should slow down and be extra cautious when driving through the construction zone whether it is daytime or nighttime,” said Chief Operating Officer Peter Merfeld. We are making every effort to minimize inconvenience to our customers and we expect the project to go smoothly,” he said. Merfeld said that he expects the entire project to be completed by October of this year.
The Maine Turnpike Authority follows a disciplined program of annual pavement rehabilitation, believing that proper maintenance of the pavement can prevent serious damage to the highway substructure and significantly higher repair costs. The 2010 program will also include a 5 mile stretch of highway between Kittery and York, totaling 12 miles of paving for the year. The section between Kittery and York is 6 lanes and the Greater Portland section is 4 lanes, meaning that more than 58 lane miles will be resurfaced on the Turnpike this year.
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