FOR RELEASE: Upon Receipt           

WRITTEN: June 23, 2006             

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Mark Shibles, 668-7863

HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENTS UNDER WAY ON US ROUTE 201 IN JACKMAN AND

ROUTE 6/15 IN LONG POND TOWNSHIP AND SANDWICH ACADEMY GRANT

  Drivers using US Route 201 in the Jackman area or Maine Route 6/15 in Long Pond Township and Sandwich Academy Grant Township can expect to encounter highway construction equipment and workers, according to the Maine Department of Transportation.

  “We've started work on improvements to more than six miles of Route 201 and more than four miles of Route 6/15 in northern Somerset County ,” explains Mark Shibles, MaineDOT's construction manager for both projects.

  “The Route 201 project begins at the Scenic Overlook about 2.6 miles north of the Jackman-Parlin Pond Township town line and extends north for 6.14 miles to the Moose River Bridge ”, Shibles explains. “Within that area, we're going to be doing two types of work. From the Scenic Overlook to the intersection of Routes 201 and 6/15, we're going to be putting down pavement shim to even up the existing roadway, then putting down new pavement on the roadway and shoulders. From that intersection north along Main Street in Jackman to the bridge, we're going to be milling off some of the existing pavement and putting down new pavement.”

  Shibles says the second project begins on Route 6/15 at the Parlin Stream Bridge about three and one-tenth mile west of the Long Pond-Sandwich Academy Grant township line and extends east for almost 4.4 miles, ending in Sandwich Academy Grant township about two-thirds of a mile east of the intersection of Route 6/15 with the Capital and Demo Roads. “On this project, we're going to be putting down shim to level the existing roadway, and then put down new pavement on the roadway and shoulders.”  

   “Within this project, we're also going to be removing the existing pavement at three different locations and putting down new gravel to provide a better base for the new pavement. We're also going to be updating roadside drainage and safety guardrails where appropriate,” Shibles continued.

  “Drivers can expect to encounter alternating one-way traffic through parts of both work zones.” Shibles notes. “In downtown Jackman, the contractor may be shifting some of the traffic onto the road shoulders to maintain two-way traffic. But regardless of the traffic configuration, drivers should slow down as they approach the work area and proceed through it with care and caution. It's for their own safety as well as the safety of our workers.”

  The contract covering both jobs, awarded to Pike Industries of Lewiston, Maine on a bid of nearly $2.9-million, calls for completion of both projects by mid-September.

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