UPDATE: Due to this week's weather, this work will now extend to Thursday.

POWNAL - The Maine Department of Transportation will be intermittently closing part of Poland Range Road in Pownal next week to facilitate emergency bridge repair work. The bridge, which crosses Chandler Brook, will be closed to traffic between 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. on Monday, January 4th; Tuesday, January 5th; and Wednesday, January 6th. Like all outdoor construction work, this schedule is weather-dependent. There will be a posted detour. The length of that detour is less than one mile.

FORT FAIRFIELD - An overnight fire has destroyed the main building at the Maine Department of Transportation's Fort Fairfield facility. The Fort Fairfield Fire and Rescue Department responded to the garage at 86 High Street at 3:20 a.m. on Sunday, January 3rd. There are no reports of any injuries. The fire destroyed two trucks, a backhoe, and several other smaller pieces of equipment that were inside the garage. We do not believe anyone was at the facility in the hours before the fire started. The Fort Fairfield Fire and Rescue Department is investigating exactly how the fire started.

NEW UPDATE: Weather delayed this work. It is now scheduled for Thursday, January 7th.

TOPSHAM - The Maine Department of Transportation will be closing the right-hand, northbound lane of traffic on I-295 at Exit 31 on Thursday, January 7th. The lane closure will extend for approximately half a mile, and we expect the closure to go from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. This lane closure is required so crews can clear a culvert to alleviate a flooding issue. Like all outdoor work, this schedule is weather-dependent. Please drive carefully when passing our road crews.

HAMPDEN - The Maine Department of Transportation will be closing Emerson Mill Road to traffic at the I-95 bridges as needed to accommodate ongoing construction work on the Hampden Bridge Bundle Project. These closures may happen between 7:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. between Monday, January 18th and Friday, January 29th. Road closures will not occur on Saturday nights.

WISCASSET - The Maine Department of Transportation is continuing to monitor the operation of the new traffic signals in downtown Wiscasset. In response to requests by the town, supported by data, we are making changes to signal operations at one intersection. Beginning on Monday, January 25th, the traffic signals at the intersections of Main and Middle Streets and Main and Water Streets will now flash between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. from mid-October to mid-May.

AUGUSTA - Today, the Maine Department of Transportation released the 2021 Edition of its three-year Work Plan. This Work Plan includes all capital projects and programs, maintenance and operations activities, planning initiatives, and administrative functions for calendar years 2021, 2022, and 2023. This plan contains 2,180 individual work items with a total value of $2.71 billion.

T3 INDIAN PURCHASE TWP - The Maine Department of Transportation is beginning work to replace the Detective Benjamin Campbell Bridge in T3 Indian Purchase TWP. This bridge carries Route 11 over the West Branch Penobscot River approximately four miles southwest of Millinocket. The current bridge is structurally deficient. Traffic is currently limited to one truck at a time.

AUGUSTA - The Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) is assisting the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention with its investigation of a COVID-19 outbreak associated with MaineDOT's bridge operations in Southport and South Bristol.

Maine CDC defines an outbreak as three or more cases with epidemiological links. This outbreak investigation includes six confirmed cases in MaineDOT employees and one confirmed case in a contractor.

KITTERY - The Maine Department of Transportation and its contracting partners will be closing the left travel lanes on both sides of the Piscataqua River (I-95) Bridge on Sunday, February 28th. Crews will close the left lane on the northbound side at 7:00 p.m. and the left lane on the southbound side at 10:00 p.m. These closures are happening to accommodate work on bridge joints. We expect both left travel lanes will remain closed until the bridge joint work is finished in May.

YORK COUNTY - The Maine Department of Transportation has posted a weight restriction on the West Buxton Bridge, which spans the Saco River between Route 112 in Buxton and Route 35 in Hollis. The new weight limit is 30 tons. At this weight limit, cars, pickup trucks, school buses, and most emergency vehicles will still be able to cross the bridge. All vehicles in excess of 30 tons should use an alternate route involving Routes 22, 35, and 112.