BY BETTY ADAMS

Staff Writer

Motorists traveling U.S. Route 202 between Augusta and Winthrop will soon encounter evidence of roadwork, but officials say a minimum of disruption, as a repaving job gets under way on four miles of the major east-west corridor.

Transportation officials say traffic delays on the heavily traveled road should be few because most of the work is scheduled to take place between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.

The state Department of Transportation is funding the $3.25 million repaving project, which also includes drainage work along the seven-mile stretch between Manchester and Winthrop.

According the DOT website, work can begin today.

The roadwork will be done by Pike Industries Corp., of Lewiston, said Mark Latti, a spokesman for the Department of Transportation.

Karen Libby, who is overseeing the project for the state, said the project will begin just east of J&S Oil in Manchester and end near Bob Barrows Chevrolet, 1412 U.S. Route 202, in Winthrop.

Libby said there will be signs to warn people about the roadwork, The first night of work will be Wednesday.

“Guardrail and drainage work can be done during the day as long as they can keep two-way traffic flowing,” Latti said.

Libby said work will generally be shim and overlay on parts of the road that have seen more recent improvements.

More extensive work will be done in Manchester near the Winthrop town line, where Libby said the road will be milled near concrete islands.

The Route 17 intersection will get an upgrade as well.

“There’s a water problem there, and I want to try to take care of that, too,” Libby said.

The crews also will rebuild sewer manholes for the town of Manchester and raise granite curbs that are too low.

Under the contract with the state, Pike must complete the work by Oct. 22.

Betty Adams — 621-5631

badams@centralmaine.com

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