AUBURN — Drivers should expect to hit traffic near the Auburn Mall and in downtown New Auburn beginning this month as the city works to improve pedestrian safety.

Construction crews have begun a long-awaited road construction project on Mill, South Main and Broad streets in New Auburn. Dan Goyette, director of capital investment and purchasing for Auburn, said construction crews will realign intersections for better sight distances and traffic patterns.

The city has been preparing for the project for seven or eight years, Goyette said. Sidewalks, traffic lights and crosswalks will all be upgraded.

A separate project led by the Maine Department of Transportation to replace the deck of the bridge over the Little Androscoggin River near Rolly’s Diner will soon begin. Both projects will reduce traffic to one lane and close sidewalks.

The project is expected to be completed before the city’s road construction in downtown New Auburn, Goyette said. Roadwork is planned to be completed in the fall.

Outside of the Auburn Mall on Mt. Auburn Avenue, road crews will begin renovating the roadway and constructing sidewalks and crosswalks for a section about a mile long, stretching from BJ’s Wholesale Club to just past the former Whiting Farm.

The road will be reduced to one lane likely until the project is completed in the late summer or early fall, Goyette said. It is possible the road may be closed and traffic rerouted at some times.

“It all depends on the contractor’s schedule,” he said.

Crews will also work to realign the sharp curve at Summer Street and Mt. Auburn Avenue to improve sight distance, he said. Summer Street will become dead-end and no longer accessible from Mt. Auburn Avenue.

The city urges drivers to seek alternative routes from each of these projects to avoid delays.

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