KITTERY - The Maine Department of Transportation plans to complete all construction work on the Piscataqua River (I-95) Bridge in Kittery two months ahead of schedule.
The bridge project contractor, SPS New England, will be conducting final road striping operations in the coming weeks. All physical work on the bridge is expected to be finished by the end of March.
The goal of this project has been to improve safety and mobility on Maine's most important bridge and preserve the structure for another 50 years of use. Construction work on this project started in May 2019 and was scheduled to be finished by May 2022. Lower-than-normal traffic volumes during the COVID-19 pandemic allowed for a faster construction schedule.
This bridge construction work has prepared the structure for an Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) project, which will allow part-time shoulder use during peak travel times. This ITS project is expected to continue until April 2023.
The construction contract on the bridge project was $52.6 million. The estimated total cost for the bridge project (including engineering, police coverage, and communications) is $61.8 million.
The Piscataqua River (I-95) Bridge project is part of the "Maine Ahead: Building a Better Gateway" project - a collaboration involving MaineDOT, the Maine Turnpike Authority, and the New Hampshire Department of Transportation. The goal of the project is to revitalize and rehabilitate the travel corridor that welcomes millions of commuters, travelers, and freight drivers to Maine every year. The initiative focuses on two major construction projects on the I-95 corridor: the Piscataqua River (I-95) Bridge and the York Toll Plaza. The toll plaza work involves making safety improvements and creating the ability to allow highway-speed tolling. The bridge work will extend the life of the bridge, add needed safety improvements, and prepare the structure for breakdown-lane travel during peak travel periods.
In 2018, 37 million tourists visited Maine - a 33-percent increase from 2012 tourism numbers. During normal times, 78,000 vehicles cross the Piscataqua River Bridge every day, and in the summer, that daily traffic number can climb to 130,000 vehicles. More than 15 million transactions occur at the York Toll Plaza each year. In 2019, on Labor Day weekend alone, nearly 250,000 transactions occurred at the York Toll Plaza, with 187,000 being captured electronically.
For the latest information, visit www.buildingabettergateway.com, and follow @MaineAheadNews on Facebook and Twitter.