The Interstate 395 extension that spans from Maine Route 1A in Brewer to Rt. 9 in Eddington is starting to take shape, officials with the state's Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) said recently.
At a cost of $106 million, the I-395/Rt. 9 connector project has been under construction since early 2022 after years of planning. The prime contractor on the project is Sargent Corp. in Orono, Maine.
Since the beginning of the enterprise, Sargent and its subcontractors have been laying the groundwork for paving — expected to start this fall — and building five bridges for local traffic.
MaineDOT developed the roadway connector project to complete a "missing link" between I-395 and the state highway in north central Maine, just east of Bangor, with the goal of helping better connect communities and invigorate the local and state economies.
The agency noted on its website's project page that the new 6-mi.-long road "will provide a regional solution to problems of transportation system connection, safety and mobility," adding that the Bangor/Brewer area "is the economic and employment center" for that region of the state.
"Economically speaking, [companies] that do business in the greater Bangor region and serve markets east of here, all the way to, and including, Canada, will see the benefits of a more reliable, safer, [and] faster road," Paul Merrill, director of communications for MaineDOT, told WFVX-TV in Bangor.
Construction Has Picked Up Since May
Just before the official 2023 Maine construction season opened, Sargent closed a portion of Eastern Avenue in Brewer for the installation of one of the new bridges that are being built for the connector road. Traffic was detoured from the intersection of Lambert Road to the intersection of Clewleyville Road.
For those folks who have been using the detour redirecting Clewleyville Road traffic in Eddington, though, an end is now in sight. Merrill said the road will reopen on Nov. 15, as will some other bridges involved in the project.
"This is one of five bridges involved in this project [and] the only one that has a road going under it," he noted. "Right now, there's a lot of bridge work, and earth work, going on along the 6-mile connector route."
In its most recent update on the I-395/Rt. 9 connector project, looking at May and June, MaineDOT reported that excavation was removed from both Eastern Avenue and Clewleyville Road, and bridge abutment footers were started on both roadways.
By May, T Buck Construction Inc., located in Turner, Maine, was hard at work on the new Clewleyville Road Bridge to include placing concrete for both abutment footers, the abutment 1 breastwall and east wingwall section 2. The contractor also placed concrete for abutment 2 at the Eastern Avenue Bridge and started form work for abutment 1.
Additionally, Sargent began installing four box culverts between Levenseller Road and the Maine Rt. 9 end of the project, while Fremont, N.H.-based Heath Hathaway continued drilling and blasting in the project's work zone.
In June, Sargent continued its box culvert backfilling at the site as well as prepping the area to install lightweight fill. The contractor also put in reinforced concrete pipes where needed and removed soil overburden on Ramp E and Ramp F to prepare for lightweight fill along a portion of the new connector road.
At the same time, T Buck's crews have kept busy on the Clewleyville Road Bridge. They first completed the task of placing forms and rebar for the Abutment 2 east wingwall and west wingwall section 1, before pouring concrete in both areas. At the Eastern Avenue Bridge site, T Buck has also finished placing the forms and rebar for the Abutment 1 breastwall and set concrete.
In addition, Deerfield, N.H.'s East Coast Signals installed the ITS conduit, with digging and backfilling assistance from Sargent, and H.B. Fleming, from South Portland, completed driving piles at Eaton Brook East before moving to Eaton Brook West.
Merrill acknowledged that many drivers navigating the detours around the I-395/Rt. 9 Connector work zone project see it as a hassle now but will enjoy its benefits once it opens in the summer of 2025.
"If you're going from I-395 to Route 9, 6 miles down the road, there's a lot of turns and different speed limits, [and you will encounter a lot of] local traffic," he said in speaking with WFVX-TV. "This will make it a smooth shot, especially for commercial vehicles."
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