Replacement of the Kelly Road bridge over I-95 in Orono tops the list of projects in the Maine Department of Transportation’s 2019-21 Work Plan that was released last week.
The annual MaineDOT Work Plan outlines the work that the department plans to perform over the next three years. The Work Plan is calendar year-based and includes all MaineDOT work activities.
The Work Plan includes highway, bridge and multimodal capital work such as bridge replacements, highway construction and paving, acquisition of buses and ferries, sidewalk construction, and major improvements to airports, among other investments. Most capital projects in this Work Plan have undergone or are currently undergoing engineering, and will be constructed by private contractors selected through a competitive bidding process.
Locally, the DOT is planning about $5 million in work this coming year. The Kelly Road bridge is by far the most costly, with a price tag of 2.58 million. Also planned in Orono is ditching and grading of shoulders on Forest Avenue, at a cost of $69,000.
More than $400,000 is allotted for projects in Greenbush, including work on the Boom Bridge over Beach Bridge Brook ($250,000); ditching and replacing culverts in various locations on Rte. 2 ($60,000); and repairing rails and replacing the wearing surface on Folsom Bridge over Olamon Stream on East Ridge Road ($110,000).
Topping the list for Old Town is $695,000 for safety and infrastructure improvements, with the possible construction of a six unit T-hangar, at DeWitt Field. Also planned is $140,000 for replacement of concrete on the Gilman Falls Bridge on Rte. 16, and $30,000 for highway safety and spot improvements with a signal at the intersection of Center and Water Streets.
The DOT plan is subject to tweaking, depending on funding availability. Should the current plan hold, however, far more money would be spent locally in 2020-21. The bulk of that would be for improvements along Stillwater Avenue in Old Town, including $5.6 million in improvements for the busy intersection of College and Stillwater Avenues, and $7.6 million to replace the #1 and #2 bridges over the Stillwater River. Also on tap is $3 million for replacement of the deck of the Rte. 43 bridge over I-95 in West Old Town.
The plan also includes numerous paving projects locally for 2020-21 including Forest and Stillwater Avenues in Bangor; I-95 through Alton, Old Town and Orono; and a small section of Rte. 2A in Old Town.
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