BETHEL – Commuting or sightseeing between Bethel and the New Hampshire border this fall and early winter is about to get more difficult.

In addition to the Maine Department of Transportation’s nearly $9 million project to redo just over two miles of Route 2 between Bethel and Gilead, Bethel and the town’s water district will, respectively, be installing 22 culverts and two miles of water-main piping along North Road between now and Christmas.

“There will be periodic traffic disruptions for the next couple of months,” Bethel Town Manager Scott Cole said of the North Road project Friday afternoon. “The public can expect road disruptions almost to Christmas. Additionally, North Road may be closed on Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., because there is a lot of work that we’ve got to get done.”

Due to weather and project uncertainties, however, there will be no fixed schedule for closing North Road to traffic. Blasting work may also happen in a few areas.

Until Monday, Oct. 22, North Road was a convenient bypass to the Route 2 project. North Road parallels Route 2 from Bethel to Gorham, N.H., on the northern side of the Androscoggin River.

Cole estimated that the North Road project would affect several hundred households along the woods-lined road from Bethel to Gilead, although pipe laying will start at the Daisy Bryant Road intersection.

To regain self-sufficiency following a severe thunderstorm on July 11 and catastrophic flooding that destroyed Bethel’s public water system, the district is installing two miles of 12-inch ductile iron pipe along North Road from three new wells being drilled.

Since July 11, Bethel has relied on trucked-in water, public water conservation measures, and assistance from other Maine water districts.

The late start was caused by a variety of unavoidable issues, among which, were, finding a new water source, negotiating landowner agreements, buying the property, lining up federal emergency funds, and taking the time to test new water sources.

Now, “things are starting to happen in a big way. We’re asking residents along North Road to endure it. If there is to be a full road closure, it will only happen on those days (above). This lets crews get a lot more work done,” Cole said.

Due to the late start, Bethel Water District Superintendent Lucien Roberge said there’s a good chance that the entire project, which includes building a new pumping station, won’t be completed by Christmas.

The district’s temporary water source in the storm-destroyed Chapman Brook Watershed off Daisy Bryant Road can only supply 60 gallons a minute toward Bethel’s daily water usage.

If the new water main isn’t mostly installed and at least one well brought online before winter sets in and the temporary water source freezes, the district would again have to resort to restrictive water conservation measures through the holidays. And that’s something Roberge doesn’t want to see happen.

“This project is very much necessary,” Roberge said in a telephone interview on Friday afternoon in Bethel. “We don’t want to inconvenience residents, but this project has to go forward and we want to be as least disruptive as possible.”