Augusta ? New, temporary Interstate 95 on and off-ramps in Augusta are expected to open to traffic in the afternoon of Sunday, November 19th. The temporary ramps are necessary to accommodate the replacement of the recently damaged bridge over I-95.
These new access points to Whitten Road will be used by all traffic taking I-95 to points south of Augusta and for those on I-95 southbound headed east toward downtown Augusta or the Capitol Area.
Exit 109B will remain available for all I-95 southbound traffic headed west toward Manchester/Winthrop.
The southbound traffic pattern on Whitten Road remains the same. However, all northbound traffic on Whitten Road will encounter a new stop sign at the intersection of Whitten Road and the temporary southbound on-ramp.
Motorists should allow extra time or consider using alternate routes such as Exits 112 or 113 while the new bridge is being constructed. Wyman and Simpson, Inc. of Richmond has been awarded the contract for the bridge work. The contractor has an aggressive schedule and is expected to be on-site soon after the new ramps are open. Weather permitting, the Exit 109 interchange will be back to normal by early March of 2018.
On October 3rd, a MaineDOT maintenance worker discovered the south exterior beam of the Ramp F Bridge over I-95 had been struck by a vehicle causing significant damage. There is currently a partial crack in the southern beam. Another recent hit has damaged the north exterior beam of the same bridge but to a lesser extent.
MaineDOT has been investigating what may have caused this damage with little success to date. Anyone with any information is asked to call MaineDOT?s Legal Division at (207) 624-3020.
As part of replacing the superstructure, there will be an increase of the ?under clearance? by over a foot to reduce the potential of future impacts and to be consistent with the clearances achieved with recent bridge projects over Interstate 95.
MaineDOT will also be installing an over-height load warning system to protect other bridges, such as the overpass carrying Western Avenue over I-95.