Road work on busy Bay Street in Winslow that started last summer and resumed Monday is expected to wrap up in about a month, and motorists can expect slowdowns until then, officials said Wednesday.
Paving is scheduled to be finished by mid-May on the mile-long stretch of U.S. Route 201 from the Ticonic Bridge south to the bridge over the Sebasticook River.
Traffic is reduced to one lane in work areas. The business-lined road, a key traffic artery into Waterville, had deteriorated and was pocked with cracks and pot holes.
“People need to allow a little extra time and allow the guys a chance to do their jobs,” said Paul Fongemie, Winslow’s public works director. “It is going to be inconvenient for another couple of weeks, but the road will be much better.”
Fongemie said the road has needed attention for several years.
The work is scheduled to take place during the day on weekdays, though there could be some weekend work, depending on the weather, said Anne Lowe, resident inspector with Maine Department of Transportation, who is overseeing the project..
“They’re going to try and stay out of the area by the intersection (with Clinton Avenue at the Ticonic Bridge) and Dunkin’ Donuts until after 9 a.m. in the morning, because that’s where the heaviest traffic is, of course,” Lowe said.
The $2 million state repaving project was planned several years ago, but was delayed until Summit Natural Gas installed underground pipe in 2014.
Lowe said work started in August and the goal was to finish last year, but it had to be stopped in early November when it became too cold for paving. Massachusetts-based All States Asphalt, which has a plant in Windsor, is doing the work.
Fongemie said motorists should be aware that crews switch which side of the road they’re on during the course of the day.
“People just need to be careful,” he said.
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