Paving along Route 4 in Livermore, Farmington and Wilton is scheduled to end for the season Saturday, though construction will not be complete, according to representatives of the Maine Department of Transportation.
Travelers driving through Farmington and Wilton on routes 2 and 4, Wilton Road, may want to find alternate routes over the next week.
Traffic will be delayed when construction along the route causes four lanes to merge into one.
For safety reasons, Craig Nash, a resident inspector for the DOT, decided to close the road to all but one lane with flaggers alternating the traffic flow.
“There were too many close calls,” he said Thursday. Workers had reported several near-misses, he said.
As of Thursday, 50 percent of the paving had been completed.
The main paving is due to be completed by Saturday.
“It’s going to be very close,” he said.
Rain has slowed the process.
He expects the road near Rite Aid to be down to one lane during the latter part of the week, but likely for one day only, he said.
“It should come together quick,” he said. “We’re rushing to get it done.”
Meanwhile, progress on Route 4 in Livermore is in a similar situation.
The Livermore project is more complicated, requiring three layers of paving. The first layer is down, said DOT engineer David Lycette on Thursday.
Delays along the route just north of the Turner line are expected all next week, with one lane of the two-lane highway being shut down at times. But, Lycette said, delays are generally less than five minutes.
Though main paving will cease as of Saturday, he anticipates continued lane closures into November while contractors work on side roads, driveways and fill on roadsides.
“If the weather turns south, they could still be here in the spring,” he added.
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