As paving and repair work commences on Tukey?s Bridge on I-295 southbound in Portland, construction crews have established a long-term lane closure for the Washington Avenue on-ramp to I-295 southbound. The Washington Avenue on-ramp is now one lane instead of two lanes, as the right-hand lane of the on-ramp will remain closed until all work has been completed on bridge. This lane closure extends north on Washington Avenue to Presumpscot Street, and may cause some delays for morning commuters. Motorists should allow extra time or use an alternate route.

Starting Monday, May 2, Motorists who utilize Main Street in Newport will be detoured off of Main Street due to construction work on the Main Street Bridge which carries Route 2 traffic over the east branch of the Sebasticook River in downtown Newport.

Passenger vehicle traffic will be directed to an in-town detour that utilizes High Street, North Street, and Elm Street.

As I-295 southbound repair work continues on Tukey?s Bridge in Portland next week, construction crews will close Exit 8 to mainline traffic each night from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. beginning Sunday night, May 1. Exit 8 will remain open only for southbound traffic entering from Washington Avenue.

Motorists who utilize the Deer Isle ? Sedgwick bridge need to be aware of three upcoming bridge closures which will shut down the bridge three times this week, with each shutdown lasting approximately 60 minutes.

The closures are weather-dependent, and are scheduled to occur between 9:00 a.m. and 2:30 on Tuesday. Crews need three hour-long closures to conduct the inspection, and if the weather is poor on Tuesday, crews will postpone the inspection until Wednesday or Thursday.

The passing lanes on I-95 southbound and northbound south of the Sebasticook River in Pittsfield will be closed for portions of Thursday, Friday and Saturday (May 5-7) so crews from Central Maine Power can install new power lines over the interstate. The travel lanes will remain open during the installation.

As part of the I-295 southbound repair currently underway in Portland, construction crews will begin nighttime closures this Thursday on three I-295 southbound ramps including the off- and on-ramps at Exit 6A (Forest Avenue) and the on-ramp from the Fore River Parkway to I-295 southbound. The construction schedule calls for the ramps to be closed nightly from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday through Friday.

These closures will allow construction crews to make repairs and replace pavement on the Forest Avenue and Fore River Bridges and will occur off and on for several weeks.

Motorists who utilize Route 1 in Whiting, Dennysville and Pembroke should be aware of lane closures and possible delays as crews begin replacing culverts and paving sections of Route 1 in Washington County.

In Whiting, crews will be paving from the intersection of Route 1 and Gardner?s Lake Road to the intersection of Route 1 and the Hall?s Mill Road.

In Dennysville, crews be paving from the intersection of Route 1 and the Cross Road to an area approximately 1.25 miles east of the Dennysville/Pembroke town line.

MaineDOT crews are scheduled to begin work on the Kelly Road Bridge that carries the Kelly Road over I-95 in Orono starting Monday, May 9.

Crews will be repainting the steel members of the bridge. Crews will first remove the existing paint, then apply three layers of a protective urethane in order to extend the life of the bridge steel.

Traffic on Kelly Road over the bridge will be limited to one lane of alternating traffic regulated by temporary signal lights. Motorists on I-95 may also be impacted by temporary lane cloures.

On Sunday, May 8th, the I-295 northbound Exit 10 on-ramp at Bucknam Road in Falmouth will be closed from 9 p.m. Sunday until 5 a.m. on Monday in order for crews to excavate and improve the drainage system. Motorists are advised to use Route 1 to Yarmouth. The ramp may open sooner if work is completed earlier.

Drivers on I-295 are advised to pay close attention to signage connected with repair work, especially signs indicating reduced speed zones. For more information and to sign up for email alerts, please go to mainedot.gov.

Officials from the Maine Department of Transportation held a press conference today to announce the start of a new rehabilitation project for Tukeys Bridge northbound and the four overpasses immediately north of the bridge. The contract for this project was recently awarded to CPM Constructors.

North of Portland, Pike Industries is involved with mill-and-fill work and guardrail and drainage updates in both north and southbound of I-295 from Falmouth to Freeport. This work is expected to be completed sometime in July.