The Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) is awarding nearly $600,000 ($582,678) in grants to 7 coastal cities and towns under the Small Harbor Improvement Program (SHIP). This includes a $100,000 grant from the Department of Conservation?s Bureau of Parks and Lands Shore and Harbor Management Fund.

Starting the week of July 19, construction crews will be working on roads in Augusta and Palermo.

Crews will first repave a section of Route 9 near Maine General Hospital. This roadwork is expected to last approximately four weeks, and work will be done at night. Crews will also be working nights repaving the intersection of Route 3 and the Church Hill Road in Augusta This intersection construction is expected to last two weeks.

The Maine Department of Transportation must close a section of Route 23 in Fairfield in order to replace two failing steel pipe culverts. Route 23 in Fairfield will be closed between the intersections of Gagnon Road and Six Rod Road from Monday, July 26 through Friday, August 6.

Crews are set to remove the culverts starting Monday, July 26. Crews will remove and replace the culverts individually in order to minimize disruptions. Local residential traffic can utilize that section of Route 23 between Gagnon Road and Six Rod Road, but it will not be passable to through traffic.

MaineDOT announced today that contractors will establish a weekend lane closure on I-295 northbound lanes in Yarmouth, reducing traffic from two lanes to one from three miles south of the Royal River Bridge to just after that bridge. The lane closure will begin at approximately 9:00 p.m. on Friday, July 23 and remain in effect until 12:00 noon on Monday, July 26. The weekend lane closure will be repeated the following weekend, if weather conditions allow work to proceed.

MaineDOT announced today that contractors working in the greater Portland area will close certain exits on I-295 overnight on selected dates this week in order to allow for paving and bridgework. The schedule of overnight exit closures may change if inclement weather prevents paving, but it currently includes:

Wednesday night, 7/21

Reports indicate that the reduction of I-295 northbound to one lane for a three-mile section of the highway approaching the Royal River Bridge in Yarmouth is causing significant traffic delays. The lane closure, which was announced several days ago, is necessary due to bridgework and paving. The lane closure went into effect as scheduled on Friday evening, July 23 at approximately 9:00 p.m. and will continue until 12:00 noon on Monday, July 26. The weekend lane closure will be repeated the following weekend, Friday July 30th through Monday August 2nd, if weather conditions allow.

The Maine Department of Transportation will be closing a short section of Route 104 in Sidney on August 9 in order to replace a deteriorating culvert. The culvert is located between the Lyons Road and Densmore Road in Sidney.

Crews are expected to begin removal of the culver at 5:00 a.m. on August 9, and expect to complete the repairs by 8:00 p.m. Replacement of this culvert is dependent on the weather, and in the case of excessive rains, the replacement of this culvert could be postponed to a later date.

The Maine Department of Transportation has postponed the replacement of a culvert on Route 197 in Richmond until next year. MaineDOT engineers recently re-inspected the culvert, and while the culvert is in need of replacement, it is structurally sound and poses no risk to traffic if not replaced until next year.

Two Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) highway projects in Scarborough, one on Route 1 and one on Payne Road, are set to begin this coming Sunday evening.

Motorists who utilize Route 219 in Turner near Howes Corner should expect delays as road construction is set to begin Tuesday, August 17. Crews will be repaving a 1.75 mile section of the road, and expect to complete the project by early October.

Traffic will be reduced to one lane of alternating traffic as crews start to remove the pavement and repave the area from Howes Corner easterly for 1.75 miles.

Along with the paving, crews will be reinforcing the road shoulders and afterwards will be reseeding the shoulder area along this stretch of road.