CARIBOU — Scott Blanchard, project superintendent for Sargent Corporation has announced that there may be periods of closed traffic on U.S. Routes 1 and 89 in Caribou during the evening hours on Oct. 26 and 27 as part of the construction of the Caribou Connector Project.
Precast bridge decking will be installed on the new U.S. Route 89 and 1 bridges. The installation will take place between the hours of 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. Installation of the decking at the Route 1 bridge is scheduled for today, Oct. 26 and for the following evening, Oct. 27, at the Route 89 bridge.
Traffic will be reduced to one lane for most of the installation period but there may be brief periods of full traffic closure when the beams for the decking are being hoisted into place. Arrangements have been made with Aroostook County and city of Caribou emergency personnel to ensure that traffic will not be closed for emergency response vehicles, Blanchard said.
Message boards have been posted at the construction sites and will be updated should the timing of the installation change due to delayed delivery of the bridge decking.
Motorists are encouraged to monitor the message board and on the evenings of installation to use alternate routes or allow for extra traveling time. “Sargent Corporation is committed to doing our very best to reduce the impacts of this construction project to its neighbors and the traveling public,” said Blanchard. “We hope that the improved travel time made possible by the Caribou Connector, when it is completed, will compensate for the inconveniences.”
This phase of the Caribou Connector Project will be a new highway beginning at the intersection of Route 1 and 89 and will extend northerly for 2.75 miles. This phase of the Caribou Connector Project is designed and built by the Sargent design-build team under contract with the Maine Department of Transportation. In addition to Sargent Corporation, the other primary members of the design-build team are TY Lin International and Lane Construction. The project is scheduled to be complete by September 2012.
