YARMOUTH - The Maine Department of Transportation will be closing the southbound side of I-295 in Yarmouth during several overnight periods during the next two weeks to accommodate paving work. This is part of the project to replace the interstate bridges that carry I-295 over Route 1 near Exit 17 in Yarmouth.

CUSHING - Two Maine Department of Transportation employees were seriously injured at a job site in Cushing this morning. The workers were part of a crew that was retrieving sheet piles near the intersection of River Road and Pleasant Point Road. The incident happened at approximately 8:00 a.m. The workers were pinned between an excavator and a flat-bed trailer. Both workers were transported to Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport. They are currently in stable condition.

WATERVILLE/WINSLOW - The Maine Department of Transportation will be closing the Ticonic Bridge to all traffic from 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 6th until 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 12th. This is part of the ongoing work to replace the bridge, which carries Bridge Street (Routes 137 and 201) over the Kennebec River between Waterville and Winslow. During this closure, vehicle traffic will be detoured south to the Carter Memorial Bridge. Pedestrian traffic will be detoured north to the Two Cent Bridge.

BRUNSWICK/TOPSHAM - The Maine Department of Transportation has begun on-site construction on the project to replace the Frank J. Wood Bridge. The bridge carries Route 201 over the Androscoggin River between Brunswick and Topsham.

BIDDEFORD - The Maine Department of Transportation is assisting the City of Biddeford with emergency culvert repair work. The culvert was damaged during a storm on May 1st. This work requires the closure of the Biddeford Connector between Route 111 and Morin Street. Work began yesterday and is scheduled to continue through Friday, August 11th.

BLUE HILL - The Maine Department of Transportation will be closing the Falls Bridge in Blue Hill to traffic from Tuesday, August 1st through Friday, August 11th. This closure is part of the ongoing construction to replace the bridge that carries Route 175 over the Salt Bond Outlet. Contractors will be mobilizing a second crane and setting girders and beams during this closure. Traffic will be detoured to Routes 175 and 172. Following this full closure, traffic will go back to using the on-site temporary detour bridge that has been constructed just west of the existing bridge.

PORTLAND/SOUTH PORTLAND - The Maine Department of Transportation will be replacing the last of four span locks on the Casco Bay Bridge on Wednesday, August 2nd. This work will require a traffic restriction on the bridge. Vehicles weighing more than 25 tons (50,000 pounds) will not be permitted to cross the bridge between 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday. In the case of rain, this work will be pushed to Thursday, August 3rd. MaineDOT will also use message boards to alert drivers of the temporary weight restriction.

AUGUSTA - Recharge Maine - the state's initiative to develop a statewide network of public, high-speed EV chargers - today announced planned awards of more than $6 million in National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program funds authorized by the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). The planned awards will be used to support development of new chargers at seven sites in locations, such as grocery stores, shopping malls, and gas stations, spanning Bangor, Augusta, and the stretch of U.S. Route 1 between Ellsworth and Freeport.

UPDATE: Route 17 will remain closed to traffic until at least Thursday morning. Crews are still working toward being able to open one lane to traffic.

TOWNSHIP E - Nearly one mile of Route 17 in Township E (between Byron and Rangeley Plantation) in Franklin County is closed because of damage from yesterday's intense rainfall. Maine Department of Transportation crews are on the scene and working to make repairs with the goal of reopening one lane of the road to traffic by the end of the day.

VINALHAVEN - An initial inspection of the Captain Richard G. Spear confirms that the hull was not significantly damaged during yesterday's grounding incident off Vinalhaven. The starboard rudder is bent, and the port rudder is missing. This missing rudder may be retrievable by divers given the location of the grounding. Both propellers are damaged. Pictures of the damage are available upon request.