DIXFIELD – Drivers pressed for time may want to find a road other than Route 2 between downtown Dixfield and East Dixfield next week.

Starting Thursday, June 19, and continuing through Sept. 26, there will be a temporary single-lane detour in place on Route 2 over Newton Brook in Dixfield.

Wide and overweight loads will not be allowed on the detour and must seek alternate routes, according to Maine Department of Transportation project engineer Shane Amoroso.

Detoured traffic will be regulated by alternating temporary traffic signals.

The detour is part of a major $3.5 million road construction that began in April and is scheduled to be completed by the middle of June 2009. It is located half a mile north of Canton Point Road and continues easterly for nearly two miles along Route 2 toward East Dixfield.

“Motorists should expect delays through the 2008 construction season, and are asked to use caution in the project area due to road conditions, as well as the presence of construction workers and flaggers,” Amoroso said in a late Friday afternoon report.

K & K Excavation of Turner is the general contractor doing the bridge work and reconstruction. During construction, some blasting will be done to straighten several sharp curves.

Additionally, the largest realignment of the highway will take place near Porter Road. The project is similar to one completed about three years ago when a two-mile stretch was realigned and reconstructed.

A third MDOT project is in the works to straighten a sharp curve near Canton Point Road.