Nearly a full month ahead of schedule, the new realignment of Route 136 in Auburn opened to traffic this morning at 9:30, providing motorists with an uninterrupted route between Auburn and Freeport.

The opening marks the culmination of a three-month collaborative effort to reopen the road as quickly as possible after a series of riverbank collapses along this stretch of the Androscoggin River had damaged sections of Route 136 and threatened an abutting residence.

Following the discovery of an undocumented eagle?s nest along the previously approved proposed Wiscasset Bypass corridor, the US Army Corp of Engineers (ACOE) has informed the Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) that the proposed route is no longer acceptable, and MaineDOT has been asked to resubmit documents supporting earlier alternatives towards the goal of establishing a new route for the Wiscasset Bypass.

On Wednesday, December 8, The Maine Department of Transportation is hosting an Open House to discuss possible transportation improvements to Route 1 in Warren.

The Open House is scheduled to begin at 5:30 at the Warren Community School on Eastern Road in Warren. There will be a short presentation to begin the event, but the remainder of the open house will be informal discussion and review of project area.

MaineDOT is pleased to announce that the new Gorham Park & Ride Lot is now open for public use. Located on Route 114 near the Route 22 Bypass in Gorham, the lot is easily accessible, and it contains 70 parking spaces. The lot also includes three handicapped parking spaces, five bicycle racks and is designed to accommodate bus turnarounds.

Editor's Note: Please utilize this version of the press release, as the earlier release listed an incorrect road as part of the detour. The detour utilizes Washington Avenue Extension, Blackstrap Road, Brook Road and Leighton Road. Thank you.

Starting Tuesday, December 7, the Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) will post a weight limit on the Route 26/100 Railroad Crossing Bridge that spans the Presumpscot River Bridge in Falmouth. The weight-limit posting will restrict the bridge to vehicles that weigh 22 tons or less.

Motorists in Auburn on Thursday and Friday should be aware of possible delays on area bridges as MaineDOT bridge maintenance engineers conduct routine inspections on several bridges.

Inspections are scheduled to begin after the morning commute and continue into the afternoon. MaineDOT will be utilizing an underbridge crane to conduct the inspections, and must close one lane of traffic during the inspections. Each of the bridges to be inspected have multiple lanes of traffic, so traffic delays are expected to be minimal.

A one-year federal pilot project that allowed six-axle, 100,000-pound trucks on Maine?s entire Interstate Highway System expires at midnight on Friday, December 17.

The pilot program increased the weight limits on Maine?s federal highways from 80,000 pounds to 100,000 pounds during this past year. With expiration of the pilot project, weight limits will return to 80,000 pounds. The 100,000-pound limit will continue to apply on the Maine Turnpike and on Maine?s non-Interstate roadways, as it has throughout the duration of the pilot.

Motorists who utilize Route 26/100 in Falmouth should be aware of periodic delays on Wednesday, December 29 (tomorrow) as construction crews must close the Falmouth Railroad Bridge in order to offload steel beams that will be utilized in the construction of the new bridge.

Crews will be closing the bridge every hour starting at 9:00 a.m. for periods of 10-15 minutes in order to offload steel beams from delivery trucks. All deliveries and unloading are expected to be completed by 3 p.m. that same afternoon.

Next week, the Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) will post a weight limit on the Fort Kent International Bridge, which spans the Saint John River. The Fort Kent International Bridge is an international crossing that connects Fort Kent to the town of Claire, New Brunswick. The weight-limit posting will restrict traffic on the bridge to vehicles that weigh three (3) tons or less. The posting will go into effect on Wednesday, January 5 at 12:01 a.m.

The Maine Department of Transportation, in cooperation with the Bangor Area Comprehensive Transportation System and the Federal Highway Administration, is holding a public informational meeting to present the findings of the Bangor I-95 Corridor Study.

The informational meeting is at 7 p.m., Thursday, January 6 at the Eastern Maine Development Corporation board room on 40 Harlow Street in Bangor. Results of the transportation study will be presented, and there will be a question and comment period as well.