AUGUSTA — Pike Industries is the low bidder on the multimillion-dollar construction project that will connect Route 3 with Civic Center Drive and allow motorists to enter and leave Interstate 95 at exit 113 from all directions.

Bids were opened at the state Department of Transportation office on Wednesday, and Ernie Martin, project manager for the department, said details were being made final on Thursday.

State engineers had estimated the cost at $10.8 million, including construction and engineering, and money is coming from all levels of government and from MaineGeneral Medical Center, which is opening a new regional hospital within sight of the exit in northwest Augusta, just off Old Belgrade Road.

The road construction project involves two new traffic circles and will create easier access to the new hospital, to be called the Alfond Center for Health, and the adjacent Alfond Center for Cancer Care. The project is also designed to ease traffic congestion at exit 112, less than one mile south on I-95.

The four firms that bid on the project were: Pike Industries, Belmont, N.H., $9.58 million; Sargent Corp., Stillwater, $9.94 million; K & K Excavation Inc., Turner, $10.58 million; and R.J. Grondin & Sons, Gorham, $10.61 million.

Funding for the project is coming from various sources: $6.6 million from the Maine Department of Transportation, $3.2 million from MaineGeneral Medical Center, and $1.2 million from the city of Augusta through a tax increment financing deal.

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Plans call for motorists to be driving on the new road in November, about the same time the new 192-bed hospital is opening.

The project involves widening and rebuilding Old Belgrade Road and parts of Bog Road, Middle Road and Route 27, also known as Civic Center Drive.

It will create turning lanes, realign intersections and add traffic signals. The interstate will be bordered by two roundabouts to permit north and southbound motorists using exit 113 to reach Routes 8, 11 and 27.

The area also has been designated for future development because it is near the Marketplace at Augusta and the Central Maine Commerce Center.

Betty Adams — 621-5631
badams@centralmaine.com

 


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