SOUTH PORTLAND — Starting Monday, motorists traveling south from Veterans Memorial Bridge to Interstate 295 and Route 1 will be impacted by lane changes and detours for more than a year while the Maine Department of Transportation rebuilds the overpass at Exit 4.

The $12.4 million project will make the overpass two-way, adding southbound access to I-295 from Route 1/Main Street in an effort to relieve traffic congestion on Broadway and increase highway efficiency.

Currently, the overpass at Exit 4 carries only southbound traffic from Veterans Memorial Bridge and I-295 to Route 1/Main Street. There is no southbound access from the interchange to I-295. 

Beginning at 6 a.m. Monday, the ramp from Veterans Memorial Bridge to southbound I-295 will be reduced from two lanes to one with a 12-foot vehicle width restriction, according to an MDOT statement.

The ramp from the bridge to Route 1/Main Street will be closed and drivers will be directed to use a detour at Exit 3, which aligns with the intersection of Westbrook Street and Broadway, where several auto dealerships are located.

The ramp must be closed so the contractor, Wyman & Simpson of Richmond, has enough room to do the project safely, said Devan Eaton, assistant highway program manager.

The lane changes and detours will be in effect until fall 2026.

Eaton said a major goal of the project is to relieve commuter traffic pressure on Broadway, a winding, heavily traveled, cross-city artery that’s nearly unavoidable if you want to get from one side of South Portland to the other and grinds to a halt during morning and evening rush hours.

It’s one of several road and pedestrian projects that MDOT has done in recent years to improve traffic flow on Broadway.

One of the state’s busiest roads, the worst section of Broadway is a 1,000-foot, four-lane bottleneck between Evans and Lincoln streets that carries about 24,240 vehicles daily, according to MDOT data.

Providing southbound access to I-295 at Exit 4 is expected to draw a significant number of motorists who normally access the interstate at Exit 3, he said.

The project will include rebuilding the off-ramp from Veterans Memorial Bridge to I-295 to allow southbound access from the overpass.

Traffic signals will be installed on the west side of the overpass to alternate southbound traffic coming from the overpass and Veterans Memorial Bridge, Eaton said.

The project will be done in stages, and will maintain one lane of traffic from the I-295 off-ramp, across the overpass, to Route 1/Main Street at all times during construction, according to the MDOT project description. It also will maintain northbound access to I-295 and Veterans Memorial Bridge.

The project will include replacing some of the high-mast highway lighting along I-295 near Exit 4, but this work isn’t expected to impact traffic significantly.