MINOT – The weather willing, local residents and town officials may be able to utter sighs of relief by the end of next week.

The Maine Department of Transportation hopes to reopen Route 119 where it crosses Bog Brook, MDOT spokesman Mark Latti said Thursday.

A stretch of the road has been closed since a downpour on Aug. 15 washed away sections of the pavement.

The storm dumped 5 inches of rain in less than two hours, according to the National Weather Service.

Commuters have had to follow a variety of detours, some over private land, to reach their destinations.

The repair project is about a week behind the state’s initial completion target. Much of the delay is attributable to a heavy demand for some building materials, especially concrete, Latti said.

A specially ordered box culvert/bridge was installed over the brook Wednesday; grouting, sealing and earthwork needs to be completed before the section can be paved.

If the state doesn’t get a long enough stretch of warm weather, temporary paving will be installed and final paving done in 2009, Latti said. Either way, guardrails will be placed and the road should be ready to open, he said.

Town Administrator Rhonda Irish said drivers have been frustrated but largely tolerant of the pace of the work.

“It’s been a big inconvenience for residents and out-of-town commuters,” Irish said. “We were just very lucky nobody was hurt (during the storm).”

She praised the state and contractors for the work they’ve done, in part with some Federal Emergency Management Agency grants awarded to the state for storm damage this summer. About $77,000 of a $1.65 million grant for Androscoggin County went into the repair job that was initially estimated at about $600,000.

Officials didn’t have an exact figure Thursday but thought the overall cost of the project would be higher than that.

Minot also received some money for work on other roads that were damaged during the deluge. That work was nearing completion as well, Irish said.