PRESQUE ISLE - The Maine Department of Transportation will open part of the new Presque Isle Bypass to traffic on Thursday morning. The 1.7-mile stretch of road connects Conant Road to Fort Fairfield Road. This connection will help commercial vehicles avoid traveling through downtown Presque Isle.
Construction on this part of the multi-phase project started in 2016. The total estimated project costs of Phase I are $16.82 million. The federal government provided 80 percent of the funding for this work, and the state provided the remaining 20 percent. The contractor on this work was Ed Pelletier & Sons Co. out of Madawaska.
The Presque Isle Bypass project includes two other phases. Phase II is currently in the design phase. The 5.9-mile route for Phase II has been finalized and will run from Route 1 in the southern part of Presque Isle to Route 10 in Easton. Timelines for the completions of Phases II and III are heavily dependent on the availability of funding.
Please contact Paul Merrill for pictures of this work.