CARIBOU, Maine — The Maine Department of Transportation recently started a project on July 8 to fix the excessive wheel ruts and pavement wear on the Presque Isle Road connecting Caribou and Presque Isle, and crews will be out working throughout the summer and early fall until Oct. 12.
Meghan Russo, manager of Legislative and Constituent Services with MaineDOT, said the work on Route 1 will consist of “segments of highway rehabilitation, pavement milling, pavement overlays, and bridge work with drainage and safety improvements.”
The project will cover 10.5 miles altogether, and includes multiple aspects and locations along the roadway. One aspect will begin .08 miles south of Route 164/Washburn Road and will extend 10.49 miles north. This piece of the project includes seven miles of rehabilitation work and will consist “mainly of the removal of 12 inches of material along the travel-way (white-line to white-line)” along with the placement of new gravel and pavement.
The second part will consist of bridge work on the H.N. Flagg Memorial and State Street bridges in Presque Isle, and the third part will involve constructing a truck safety turnout on Route 1A in Fort Fairfield.
Maine DOT has begun working to fix the ruts seen here on the Presque Isle Road, connecting Aroostook County’s two cities of Caribou and Presque Isle.
(Chris Bouchard)
Russo said the project came about because of “the fatigue of underlying material” in the road, which has “led to excessive wheel rutting and pavement wear.”
Workers will be on various locations throughout the seven miles of Route 1 “between the intersections Route1/Route 164 in Presque isle and Route 1/Route 164 in Caribou.”
While work will temporarily shut down in October, the overall completion date for this project is Aug. 1, 2020. Work will resume next year in early spring.
MDOT advises motorists to “please use caution and pay attention” while driving on the roadway.
“There is a rather large workforce onsite with a lot of equipment and people present on the ground,” Russo wrote in an email. “There will be daily changing traffic patterns, including lane shifts and flagger stations. Stay in your lane, read the signs and message boards and please obey the posted speed limits.”
Russo added that there will be multiple work zones throughout the 10-mile area, and that motorists should be aware that they may approach an additional zone after driving through another.
“We urge motorists to use caution and lower their speed.”
