BRIDGTON - The Maine Department of Transportation will be installing traffic count sensors on Route 302 (North High Street) in Bridgton. The work area is west of Route 302's west junction with Jim Douglas Road. Work on the westbound side of the road is scheduled to begin at 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday, May 25th and take all day. Eastbound lane work will begin at 7:00 a.m. on Wednesday, May 26th. Work is expected to take approximately ten hours on each day. This work will require lane closures.

HAMPDEN - On Friday, May 21st, the Maine Department of Transportation joined U.S. Senator Susan Collins; University of Maine researchers; Advanced Infrastructure Technologies (AIT) Bridges team members; industry partners; and state, local, and federal officials to celebrate the opening of the new Grist Mill Bridge in Hampden.

The 75-foot-long, single-span bridge carries Routes 1A and 9 over Souadabscook Stream. The old structure consisted of three bridges built on top of one other. The most recent of those bridges dated to approximately 1950.

SOMERSET COUNTY - The Maine Department of Transportation is doing paving work and making drainage improvements on Route 201 in Somerset County. The project area stretches more than 13 miles: it begins in West Forks Plantation, just south of the border with Johnson Mountain Township, and extends north, through Parlin Pond Township, ending in Jackman. Work is scheduled to be finished by the beginning of October. Drivers should expect single lane closures with a one-way alternative traffic pattern. The contractor on this job is Pike Industries of Fairfield.

AUGUSTA - The Maine Department of Transportation will be conducting its first series of drive-thru job interviews in the coming weeks. These drive-thru interviews are being done to help maintain health and safety during the COVID-19 pandemic as MaineDOT works to fill several important positions in our Office of Fleet Services. Specifically, the department is looking to hire several heavy vehicle and equipment technicians at the Fleet Garage in Augusta.

UPDATE: Due, in part, to the weather forecast and increasing traffic volumes, this traffic shift is now being planned for June 7th.

KITTERY - The "Maine Ahead" project on the Piscatacqua River (I-95) Bridge in Kittery is entering its third and final year on time and on budget. This project is improving safety and mobility on Maine's most important bridge and will preserve the structure for another 50 years of use. This work is also preparing the bridge for an Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) project, which will allow part-time shoulder use during peak travel times.

KNOX COUNTY - UPDATE - The Maine Department of Transportation will be continuing paving work along Routes 73 and 131 in Knox County. Work began in 2020, and was estimated to be finished by June 4th, but will require more time to complete. Paving work will continue through June 16th. Paving work on Route 73 begins at the Rockland town line and extends more than two miles south through Owls Head and into South Thomaston. The Route 131 project area begins at Port Clyde Road in Saint George and extends north for nearly ten miles through South Thomaston, ending at Route 1 in Thomaston.

MADAWASKA - The Maine Department of Transportation is conducting its annual safety inspection of the International Bridge between Madawaska and Edmundston, New Brunswick next week. The bridge will be closed to traffic between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. EST from Monday, June 14th through Saturday, June 19th. Detour routes will be posted. This inspection may also require an additional day of work and traffic closures the following week. This inspection had originally been scheduled for July.

AUGUSTA - A national resin shortage is limiting the Maine Department of Transportation's road striping operations this year. The February winter storm that left Texas without power for several days has dramatically hindered resin production in that state's petrochemical plants. MaineDOT has been working with our suppliers of latex-based paint, but the department is receiving far less paint than expected because the resin used to manufacture the paint continues to be in short supply. We currently have less than half the amount of white and yellow paint we had at this point last year.

HAMPDEN - On June 24th, the Maine Department of Transportation will be shifting northbound I-95 traffic onto the second of eight new interstate bridges in Hampden. In case of inclement weather, the backup date is June 25th. This new bridge, the West Bridge, crosses the Souadabscook Stream. Heading north, it is the first of the four bridges MaineDOT is replacing on the northbound side of the interstate as part of the Hampden Bridge Bundle Project. Northbound traffic remains diverted to temporary bridges constructed in the median of the interstate at the other two bridge locations.