KITTERY - The "Maine Ahead" project will begin a new phase of safety improvement work on the Piscataqua River Bridge, which carries I-95 between Kittery, Maine and Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Crews will be replacing bridge joints that date back to the original construction of the bridge a half-century ago.
This phase of joint replacement work will require the right travel lane to be closed on the southbound side of the bridge beginning at 5:30 a.m. on Monday, February 24th. This closure will restrict the southbound side of the bridge to two lanes. It will not be reopened to three lanes on the weekends until this phase of the joint replacement work is complete. This work is expected to last several months. In a few weeks, we will begin joint replacement work on the northbound side of the bridge. This work will require a similar right travel lane closure on the northbound side. This restriction is also likely to last several months. We need to close these lanes to be able to work on the bridge joints. These traffic restrictions are also necessary for the safety of our crews and the traveling public.
We hope to be able to reopen these travel lanes as soon as this phase of the bridge joint replacements is complete, but these traffic restrictions could last through mid-May. We are committed to keeping three lanes of travel open on both sides of the bridge during peak travel periods (between mid-May and the day after Labor Day).
We continue to appreciate the patience and understanding of the members of the traveling public as we work on these important safety improvements. For the latest information, visit buildingabettergateway.com, and follow @MaineAheadNews on Facebook and Twitter.
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The "Maine Ahead: Building a Better Gateway" project is a collaboration involving the Maine Department of Transportation, 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 Bridge and the York Toll Plaza. The toll plaza work involves safety improvements and 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 potential breakdown-lane travel during peak travel periods.
In 2018, 37 million tourists visited Maine a 33-percent increase from 2012 tourism numbers. Every day, 78,000 vehicles cross the Piscataqua River Bridge, 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.