Maine’s continued rise in popularity as a destination for families, foodies, and outdoor enthusiasts has led to a rise in back-ups and traffic jams at the state’s southern gateway, a development that doesn’t benefit anyone. Maine Ahead will modernize two of Maine’s iconic entry points, the Piscataqua River Bridge, and the York Toll Plaza, alleviating the problem and providing a more welcoming entry to the state WITHOUT increasing toll prices. When Maine Ahead is finished, both commuters and visitors will breathe a sigh of relief when they crest the bridge and see Maine’s state line sign welcoming them home.
Fall is officially here, and with reduced traffic on the Maine Turnpike and the Piscataqua River Bridge, our team can spend more time getting needed repairs accomplished. This means that you might see more lane closures during specific times – always with an eye toward keeping traffic moving as smoothly as possible while also keeping our workers safe. Beginning Monday, October 19th, at 6:00 a.m., the right, northbound travel lane will be closed over the Piscataqua River Bridge to accommodate shoulder widening and paving. This closure is expected to last approximately two to three weeks. Also, please remember to use additional caution at Exit 7 in New Hampshire as traffic merges onto the bridge.
All six lanes will be open on the Piscataqua River Bridge for at least the next two weeks. Remember: if you’re visiting Maine, please make sure to go to www.maine.gov/covid19/ for details on testing and self-quarantine guidelines for out-of-state visitors.
Beginning on Monday, February 24th, the “Maine Ahead” project will begin a new phase of safety improvement work on the Piscataqua River Bridge. 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. This closure will restrict the southbound side of the bridge to two lanes. It will not be reopened to three lanes until this phase of the joint replacement work is complete.
In a few weeks, we will begin joint replacement work on the northbound side of the bridge as well. This work will require a similar right travel lane closure on the northbound side. 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.
TRAFFIC UPDATE:
The Southbound right lane on the Piscataqua River Bridge will be closed from 6am on Monday, October 21st through 2pm on Friday, October 25th. A Northbound lane will also be closed from the NH side of the bridge through mile marker 2, as well as the exit 7 entrance ramp, from 9pm through 7am each night through 10/25.
Additionally, we will be closing the Exit 1 off-ramp in Maine beginning on Thursday, October 24th. This ramp will remain closed for the duration of the project which is projected to be substantially complete in October of 2021.
Thank you for your patience!
LANE CLOSURE: A southbound lane on the Piscataqua River Bridge will be closed from 6am on Wednesday, October 16th through 2pm on Friday, October 18th. The Exit 7 entrance ramp to I-95 Northbound will also be closed on Wednesday Night (10/16) to layout pavement markings & barrier.
From 9pm through 7am, an I-95 northbound lane will also be closed from the NH side of the bridge through mile marker 2. These closures will occur on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights (October 15th-18th) to install traffic signs and pavement markings. Thank you for your patience!
Contractor: Reed & Reed, Inc. Bid Amount: $ 39,484,431
Project Schedule: Completion date June 21, 2021.
Contractor Schedule: The contractor continues to set light poles and hook up lights along the Open Road Toll (ORT) or high-speed lanes prior to opening them up for traffic. Their sub-contractor, Pike Industries, continues to place surface pavement along the northern end of the project within the ORT lanes as well. Many locations have been striped for the next phase’s traffic pattern. TransCore wrapped up the commissioning or testing of the high-speed lanes the first week in October. This will allow the contractor to swap the project into Phase III. The contractor anticipates that this will happen the week of October 18th. During Phase III, traffic will travel through the ORT lanes while the cash lanes are being constructed. At the same time along the southern end of the project, traffic will be shifted to the outside lanes. This provides space within the median for the barrier to be constructed. The project will stay in this phase throughout the winter. Tolls will not be collected through the ORT lanes, they will still be collected at the current York Toll Plaza.
Contractor: Reed & Reed, Inc.
Bid Amount: $ 39,484,431
Project Schedule: Completion date June 21, 2021.
Contractor Schedule: Crews continue to work on the cash lanes and toll booths outside the ORT while prep work and layout for surface paving inside the ORT lanes begins. The paving sub-contractor has been paving the widening areas in preparation for phase 3 traffic control, south of the new toll plaza. This will include traffic being shifted to the outer lanes while crews install drainage and concrete median barriers during the fall and winter months. TransCore is working on the commissioning of the newly installed ORT hardware. They have done several test runs and are currently making adjustments to improve accuracy before running additional tests.
Contractor: Reed & Reed, Inc.
Project Schedule: Completion date June 21, 2021.
Progress to Date: Crews are currently installing granite curb around island 4, forming the curtain wall in lane 16, and have excavated for the canopy columns in lane 3. The stormwater ponds were recently loamed and seeded and are complete. Outside the cash lanes, paving crews are placing base and intermediate pavement layers in shoulder areas and in guardrail widening locations north of the toll plaza. TransCore is working on their newly installed equipment in the ORT lanes. They have started their initial commissioning.
Contractors Reed & Reed and RJ Grondin continue to make progress on the new Open Road Toll Plaza in York. Check out what they have been up to.
In the first photo Reed is assisting Grondin as they set the first of the 6 ½ foot tall precast concrete barrier. These barrier segments are too heavy for their excavator requiring a crane for placement. When put in service this barrier will provide positive separation between the southbound cash lanes and the ORT lanes. In the second photo, Grondin is assisting Reed & Reed cast a light pole (LP) barrier segment. This section of LP barrier serves to separate and illuminate the northbound ORT lanes and cash lanes.
The contractor continues to install precast barrier along the ORT lanes and cash lanes. The NB ORT structure is in place and getting data lines pulled into the conduits. The SB ORT structure should be going up into place in the next couple weeks, if the weather stays mild. The contractor continues to make progress inside and outside the toll building. Outside the building, crews are wrapping up the final trim pieces for the metal roof. On the inside, electrical, finish plumbing, painting, millwork, data, painting, and ceiling crews are working to bring the interior of the building towards a finished product. The contractor plans to start firing up the systems within the building in the beginning of March.
