The Augusta Interstate 95 on-ramp at Western Avenue will close temporarily

AUGUSTA — Beginning Monday Motorists heading into Augusta eastbound on Western Avenue and wanting to get onto Interstate 95 will have to find a new route as the on-ramp will be closed as part of a $30 million project to replace the bridge that carries Western Avenue over the highway.

Drivers coming into Augusta from Manchester and beyond on Western Avenue, which is also US Route 202, will have two or three options, depending on whether they plan to head north or south on I-95. Each of those will be marked with detour signs, officials said.

Officials anticipate some traffic impacts and delays, especially in the first few days of the temporary change, as drivers find their new routes, but are taking steps to get the word out in advance and put detour signs in place to direct drivers on the road.

The biggest impact will be on drivers eastbound on Western Avenue, who must go north on I-95. To do this, they will have two main detour options, both of which involve driving past the closed on-ramp and continuing up Western Avenue, reversing and returning to Western Avenue to use the westbound on-ramp, which will remains open.

The two options for reversing are to turn right on Senator Way to Target, then loop on Crossing Way back to Western Avenue. Or by going past this option to the intersection of Meadow Road, past Damon’s Pizza and Italians, and turn left at the traffic lights onto Meadow Road, then follow the U-signs onto Fuller Road to go back onto Meadow Road and then right on Western Avenue westbound back to the 109 interchange exit.

“Northbound traffic is detoured, that’s the biggest impact, that traffic has to drive and use the westbound on-ramp,” said Devan Eaton, project manager for the Maine Department of Transportation. “People who are familiar with the area shouldn’t have any problems and there should be enough signs there for those who aren’t. It may take a while, but people should pick it up pretty quickly.”

Paul Merrill, public information officer for the state Department of Transportation, said the department has issued press releases, targeted social media and sent a notification to state workers, as many of them likely drive through that area commuting to and from work.

Eastbound drivers on Western Avenue who want to go south on I-95 have a third option, a new temporary interchange at Whitten Road, where they can get onto southbound I-95. The exchange was expected to open Friday pending Monday’s lane closure. The exchange, in the same place as before the temporary interchange was established during a bridge repair project in 2018, it will be configured to allow traffic to flow freely on and off the freeway, with temporary stop signs on Whitten Road at the new temporary intersection.

Construction workers prepare a temporary Interstate 95 Thrusdsay interchange at Whitten Road in Augusta. Traffic on I-95 is seen below. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

The ramp closure is necessary as crews construct a temporary bridge that will be used during construction of the replacement bridge. The ramp closure is expected to last 30 days or less. A new realigned access ramp will take its place. The new ramp will be moved east, off the Western Avenue Bridge, and made shorter and at a sharper angle, both of which are intended to make the intersection safer where traffic merges. Eaton said the on-ramp is a higher crash location, with rear-end crashes occurring as drivers approach the merge area. Relocating the turn lane for the bridge ramp also allowed more room for pedestrian sidewalk improvements and makes the crosswalk from on-ramp traffic shorter.

“We’re trying to slow down the traffic on that ramp, slowing people down should allow for better distance to the venue for everyone,” Eaton said. “And pushing that divider off the bridge saved us some bridge width and allowed us to have a much better pedestrian facility.”

The the project is expected to add 1,350 feet of new sidewalk along Western Avenue and Whitten Road, improving pedestrian access and safety.

Beginning Nov. 18, the southbound interstate exit ramp at Exit 109B will also be closed. Southbound traffic will still be able to use exit 109A to exit the freeway and onto Western Avenue in both directions.

When the switch to the temporary bridge takes place, likely in late November, drivers will no longer be able to turn left from the west side of Western Avenue onto Whitten Road as that intersection will be moved to make way for construction equipment. The left turn lane there will now return once the project is complete.

This photo taken Thursday shows construction progress on the new bridge that will carry Western Avenue over Interstate 95 in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

During this time, drivers heading west on Western Avenue who wish to enter Whitten Road, which provides access to the Hannaford supermarket there as well as several businesses in the Turnpike Mall, will use the southbound on-ramp to I-95 to temporarily access Whitten Road. change.

On-site construction for the project began in November 2023, but so far work has mainly taken place under the existing bridge and ramps, with minimal impact on traffic.

The contractor for the project is Reed & Reed, of Woolwich.