AUGUSTA — Business owners and residents along Mount Vernon Avenue in Augusta know the road work needs to be done. They just want it to get it behind them.

The final phase of the $4.3 million Mount Vernon Avenue/Civic Center Drive project begins Monday, and though Maine Department of Transportation officials don’t expect delays or inconveniences like last year’s, people are wary.

“We are just ready for it to be over,” said Gary Jones, manager at the Capitol Container redemption center. “We’ve taken it on the chin on this road for quite a long period of time, and it’s been hard on businesses.”

Ernie Martin, project manager for the transportation department, said the project’s contract period ends June 21, and he’s confident the work will be completed by then. Work will be sporadic up and down the corridor, Martin said, but most of the work will involve the retaining walls.

“I (expect) that on June 21, the workers will be gone and Mount Vernon Avenue will be fully operational without any construction activity,” Martin said. “I don’t see anything that should alarm folks.”

According to Martin, the remaining work includes drainage improvements in front of the Bond Brook Mini Mall and completion of the retaining walls. He said all the water and sewer work has been completed, but a lot of cleaning and touching up remains.

“As far as the heavy stuff, it’s relatively done,” Martin said. “Hopefully this should go fast, because a lot of the excavation and heavy lifting has been completed.”

A fast and smooth end to the construction, which began in last July, will be welcomed by business owners in the area who saw a drop in customers during the project last year.

“For a lot of the time (last year), they blocked the road both ways, so a lot of our customers couldn’t get here,” Jones said. “The thing that saved us is that we have a pretty good clientele, and we did our best to encourage them to support us even if it took them a little extra time.”

Martin said plans call for one-way, alternating traffic with flaggers, and he doesn’t anticipate any reason for parts of the road to be completely closed. He said additional paving could create the biggest delays, but the contractor, Pratt & Sons, of Minot, should be able to take advantage of the increased amount of daylight.

Scott O’Brien, of Augusta Florist, said he had a busy wedding season last year; but when that ended in late October, he started to notice a drop in business. He thinks it won’t be as bad this time because the major work is already complete, but he is still anxious.

“May is my busiest month because of Mother’s Day and prom, so I am somewhat concerned about this next phase,” O’Brien said. “Last year there were a lot of broken promises, like working on Saturdays, and that is why a lot of people are wary.”

Neither O’Brien, Jones nor Paula Peaslee, owner of Love is in the Hair salon on Loretta Lane, a side street off Mount Vernon Avenue, said they received any information from transportation officials about this part of the project. Peaslee, who opened her salon in late August, said she learned about the next phase because she saw a road sign.

Martin, however, said the transportation department typically doesn’t have any follow-up public meetings once a project is officially started. He said people can see what work has been done and what remains to be completed.

“We outreach with the city, and hopefully they pass along the information,” he said. “I think the contractor has done a good job managing communication with the property owners.”

Peaslee said she has a Facebook page and a website and will encourage her clients to leave extra time to deal with any traffic problems. She said the construction didn’t really bother her business much last year, aside from some parking problems during the final few weeks of the work period.

Residents and business owners have reason to rejoice once the project is complete, because there will be a five-year moratorium during which no excavation will be allowed except in the event of an emergency, Martin said. Jones knows the work will be beneficial in the long run to everyone, but he just wants it completed.

“The faster they can get it done, the better it will be for us,” Jones said. “We are ready for it to be over.”

Martin said there aren’t any other big projects coming up in Augusta, but he mentioned the Water Street reconstruction in Hallowell as something looming for the department. There will be a public hearing April 14 in Hallowell to continue the discussion about the project, which is scheduled for 2018.

The Mount Vernon Avenue project has remained “on task” financially, Martin said, and there haven’t been any changes that have caused the budget to fluctuate.

“I think things have gone as planned, if not a little better,” Martin said. “I think we’ve done a good job taking care of the gateways in and out of Augusta.”

Jason Pafundi — 621-5663

jpafundi@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @jasonpafundiKJ

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