NORWAY – Work on the Route 117 road reconstruction project is expected to begin in the next few weeks.

Brad Foley, manager of the Department of Transportation’s highway program, said the project bid was awarded to K&K Construction of Turner and the MDOT is in the process of setting up a pre-construction/pre-utility meeting.

Work may begin around the beginning of June and is expected to be completed in the spring of 2010. A surveyor was on site Tuesday marking the new center line for the road.

K& K Construction came in with the low bid of $1,687,000 million out of a total of five bidders last month, according to bid documents filed with the MDOT.

The work will involve a total reconstruction of one mile of the road, near the intersection of Route 118, said Foley. The majority of the work, which includes widening, ditching and paving, will take place over the summer, but the spring 2010 completion date allows the state to take a look at the road next spring and to see the effects of winter.

“We can see if it isn’t perfect and shim out any of those areas before we put on the final paving,” said Heath Cowan, MDOT project manager.

Cowan said there will be alternating one-way traffic lanes used to keep cars traveling during construction. There may also be limited stoppage while blasting occurs.

Residents and motorists have been waiting for work to continue on the road that is known for its many dips and rises. Temporary maintenance, such as filling a five mile section with crushed stone dust to get rid of sharp edges, was implemented last year to try to avoid accidents.

The project was on a waiting list last year, said MDOT’s Herb Thomson. The MDOT has been aware for years that sections of the road need to be rebuilt, but Thomson said funding sources had not been identified to pay for it until last year when legislation was passed that earmarked about $50 million toward highway reconstruction.

The money will be used for 12 projects statewide, including the Norway project.

Last summer Town Manager David Holt gathered support letters from area officials, chambers of commerce in Oxford Hills and the lakes region and ambulances service to send to state legislators in hopes of increasing the town’s chances to get funding for the road.

The road is a major thoroughfare between the Bridgton area and Oxford Hills.