MADAWASKA - The Maine Department of Transportation will be using a helicopter to help conduct geotechnical explorations in the St. John River between Madawaska and Edumundston, New Brunswick next week. The purpose of the geotechnical exploration work is to determine the location and quality of bedrock in the river for the future placement of bridge abutments and in-water piers for the new Madawaska-Edmundston International Bridge.

KITTERY - As work on the "Maine Ahead" project continues, drivers will begin encountering new traffic patterns near the Piscataqua River Bridge.

Beginning at 9:00 p.m. tonight (October 24th), crews will be closing the Exit 1 off-ramp on the northbound side of I-95. This ramp along with the southbound exit ramp (which has already been closed for several weeks) will remain closed until the bridge project is substantially complete. Our anticipated date for that substantial completion is October 2021.

PORTLAND AND SOUTH PORTLAND - The Maine Department of Transportation is conducting overnight paving work on four bridges on I-295 in Portland and South Portland. This work is being done to preserve the bridge surfaces until we can do more thorough work in future years. The four bridges that we are repairing are Tukey's Bridge Northbound and Southbound, Fore River Bridge Northbound, Fore River Bridge Southbound, and the Fore River Parkway Bridge Northbound. Crews will be milling and repaving the surface of Tukey's Bridge. The other three bridges will be overlaid with new asphalt.

WASHINGTON COUNTY - The Maine Department of Transportation is upgrading two Mattawamkeag Railroad Crossings in Washington County. One is on Route 1 (Houlton Road) in Eaton just south of Danforth. The other is on Route 6 (Old Codyville Road) in Lambert Lake. Our work areas extend approximately 200 feet on either side of each railroad crossing. One-way temporary gravel detours have been installed around the rail crossing work zones. This work started on Monday, October 28th and is scheduled to continue through November 6th. The contractors are NBM Railways and Northeast Paving.

FREEPORT - The Maine Department of Transportation will be working with Maine Water on a project that will impact traffic on both sides of I-295 in Freeport this week. We are working to install a water main under the interstate between mile markers 21 and 22. Work outside the paved areas will begin at 4:00 p.m. on Monday, October 28th. Beginning at 7:00 p.m., we will be closing the northbound travel lane and southbound passing lane to monitor the progress of the directional boring. We plan to reopen all travel lanes before Tuesday morning's commute.

WISCASSET - The Maine Department of Transportation will be testing new traffic signals at two intersections in downtown Wiscasset on Wednesday, October 30th. The testing will begin at 9:00 a.m. and continue until noon. The intersections in question are where Water Street intersects with Route 1 and where Water Street intersects with Middle Street. People passing through these intersections should proceed with caution. Message boards will alert motorists about this test, and law enforcement officials will be on site during the testing period.

BRUNSWICK - The Maine Department of Transportation is conducting paving work on Route 1 in Brunswick. The work area runs from the Cooks Corner interchange to the Brunswick-Topsham Bypass interchange. We'll be paving and striping both the travel and passing lanes on both the northbound and southbound sides. Work on the northbound side will be happening between 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Work on the southbound side will be happening between 7:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Drivers should expect lane restrictions.

HARRINGTON - The Maine Department of Transportation is working seven days a week to replace Johnson Bridge, which carries Route 1A over Flat Bay River and Curtis Creek in the Town of Harrington in Washington County. Due to cold weather and shortened work days, we need additional time to complete this work. Route 1A remains closed to traffic and is scheduled to be reopened on November 25th.

AUGUSTA - Maine Department of Transportation workers are ready to respond to what we expect will be the first winter weather event of the season Thursday night and Friday morning.

"Our plow trucks are ready, our salt sheds are full, and our snow fighters are prepared for whatever Mother Nature throws our way," said MaineDOT Highway Maintenance Engineer Brian Burne.

VINALHAVEN - The Maine Department of Transportation is working to make improvements to the Vinalhaven Ferry Terminal. The terminal is located on West Main Street in Vinalhaven. We are modifying the ferry pen in order to accommodate the new, larger ferry that is currently under construction at Washburn & Doughty Associates, Inc. in East Boothbay. Prock Marine Company of Rockland is the contractor on the Vinalhaven terminal work. The terminal project started this month and is expected to be finished by April 1, 2020.