LIVERMORE – Preliminary work to improve more than three miles of Route 4 is set to begin after Thanksgiving. The bulk of the work is scheduled to be done next spring, with the project to be concluded by June 2006.

The work will begin about a half-mile north of the southern intersection of Route 4 and Route 108 near Brettun’s Pond and extend north for just more than three miles toward Livermore Falls, ending near Autum Lane, just south of the Old Canton Road.

“It’s the last piece of Route 4 between Auburn and Livermore Falls that needs to be reconstructed to bring that corridor up to modern standards,” said David Lycette, Maine Department of Transportation project construction manager.

E.L. Vining and Son of Farmington was awarded the contract with a bid of just more than $3.7 million.

The work will include full and partial reconstruction of the existing roadway, including adjustments to ease curves and hills, Lycette said.

The project includes two 12-foot travel lanes and two 8-foot paved shoulders, he said.

The work this fall will concentrate on piling dirt on top of a boggy area near the northern intersection of Routes 4 and 108, near the Boothby Farm stand, in order to compact the existing soil and force out water that could cause construction problems if it were allowed to stay in the soil, Lycette said.

After the existing soil is compacted by the weight of the added material, the so-called surcharge, or piles of dirt, will be removed and the road-related work will be done, Lycette said.

Cutting and cleaning in locations where new utility poles will be installed is also planned for this fall. There also may be some erosion control work done prior to winter, he said.

“In some areas, utility lines need to be relocated so we can build the new roadway,” Lycette said. “We don’t anticipate a lot of the work in the existing roadway until next spring.”