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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 27, 2020
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UPDATED: Turnpike bridge work to cause overnight closures of Warren Avenue next
Two nights of closures needed for steel removal on Warren Avenue bridges at Mile 49
PORTLAND, Maine – Due to ongoing turnpike bridge construction, Warren Avenue in Portland will be closed overnight for two nights next week. The closures are scheduled to occur on the evenings of Monday, August 31st and Tuesday, September 1st from 10:00 PM until 5:00 AM the following morning.
The Warren Avenue closures are needed for the removal of structural steel on the bridges that carry turnpike mainline traffic over the city street. During the daytime hours Warren Avenue will remain open with two-lane, two-way traffic. All work is weather dependent and will require rescheduling in the event of inclement conditions.
To assist motorists during the overnight closures, a detour route will be signed. Traffic will be routed around the construction site using Riverside Street and Forest Avenue. A typical detour will be roughly 2.5 miles long. The average annual daily traffic (AADT) on Warren Avenue is approximately 17,800 vehicles per day.
This work is part of a $17.8 million project to replace the two mainline bridges built in 1956, located at Mile 49 on the turnpike, that carry traffic over Warren Avenue. The work includes removal of the existing bridges, construction of new higher and wider bridges and raising the mainline approaches about three feet in order to achieve a minimum clearance of 16’-6”.
In addition to increasing the height, the new bridges will be wider to accommodate a third lane of traffic. The bridges will be widened to the outside to maintain two lanes of traffic in each direction during construction.
The work being done to the Warren Avenue bridges is part of the multi-year construction effort underway to improve mainline travel through the Portland area that includes both bridge and interchange improvements, a new Exit 45 and widening the roadway to six lanes.
“When this work is completed, the benefits of widening will be substantial: safer travel, a smoother highway, reduced congestion, and improved traffic circulation,” said Erin Courtney, public outreach manager for the Maine Turnpike Authority (MTA).
The Warren Avenue bridge project was awarded to Reed & Reed, Inc. of Richmond, Maine in April 2019 and is scheduled to be completed in June of 2021.
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