Road Closures and Delays 2022

[John McNamara]

A route involving Dresden might be attractive these days due to bridge construction on Route 1 north of Taste of Maine. I welcome input from local drivers to elaborate on this....

[Dwight Winkley]

At present time no delays going passed  Taste of Maine Restaurant. Footings for the bypass bridge have just been started.

Market Cafe is open south of Wiscasset. It is in the small strip mall across from Shaw's super market.

The old Chips Chow Hall/Hot Spot has a small sign on the building that says Opening Soon. And a large sign that reads  Jodies Cafe and Bakery

[Brian Whitney]

The plan for the bridge construction is to keep two lanes open at all times. The speed limit will be reduced but traffic should flow well. There is going to be a new stop light at the Woolwich fire dept. intersection. That may prove to be interesting!

[Bob Holmes]

I am skeptical of the "smooth flow" prospects, esp during BIW traffic and summer Route 1 tourists.  We'll see.

As for the traffic light at Woolwich town office, that is mostly for all of us living on both sides of the Nequassit road crossroad needing to get out and into Bath.  We are not optimistic (per a recent Woolwich town meeting on the issue).  It will clog southbound traffic before entering the bridge construction area.

We'll be watching closely, but personally I'm expecting major delays...I hope I'm wrong.

Bob

[Brian Whitney]

Here's the news article about the construction I saw recently. The video explains it better than the text.

https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/traffic/detour-expected-to-slow-traffic-on-part-of-busy-us-1-woolwich-maine-construction/97-d43b86d5-be04-4429-9f9a-a28c0994650e

[Jeff Schumaker]

So, there shouldn't be too much of a problem for SWW.

Jeff S.

[Bob Holmes]

NO problem for SWW, keep to your original plans.  For the Aug 6 Trout Creek celebration, it might have changed, so stay tuned.

Bob

[Ed Lecuyer]

For those keeping score, there are THREE separate major road work projects involving road closures and detours planned for Spring 2022. These will impact the most common used routes to the museum from points south...

1. Route 196:  Brunswick-Topsham Bypass
Monday April 11 through Wednesday April 20th
The ramp connecting 196 north to route 1 north will be closed. Either use the posted detour, or use the prior exit into Brunswick onto Route 1.

2. Route 295 Portland
Friday April 22nd through Monday April 25th
Route 295 will be CLOSED just north of the Back Cove/Fore River bridge by the ex-B&M Bean plant. Use 95 and the Falmouth Spur instead.

3. Station 46 Bridge Replacement - Route 1 Woolwich
Underway; completion in 2024.
This is supposed to only involve very limited closures, as a temporary bridge/detour is under construction at the site. I have yet to see any visible traffic impact at the construction site; we'll see as the summer progresses...

[Bill Reidy]

For those who use Route 196 to connect with U.S. Route 1 in Brunswick en route to the WW&F, this roadwork will impact you through April 20th.  I sometimes use I-295 exit 31 to 196 on my trip, though exit 28 directly to 1 works equally as well:

"BRUNSWICK, Maine —
The bridge that connects Route 196 to the northbound side of Route 1 in Brunswick closed Monday so crews can do maintenance work. The bridge is scheduled to be closed until April 20.

"Detours are in place taking traffic on Route 1 south to the Maine Street exit in order to get back on the northbound side of Route 1..."

https://www.wmtw.com/article/construction-closures-busy-brunswick-bridges/39688039?fbclid=IwAR1qoi-BrNKRpULx75X7qDkF5P4qWLXtxUIAEiz8eZgYp_WOp4xFEi0xErU#

[Benjamin Richards]

Having driven hither and fro across the Greater Brunswick Area WAY too many times today...the posted detour will add at least 10 minutes, on account of the two left turns in rapid succession, one of which is not protected by a light, so you have to just jump out in the gaps.

Use exit 28 (Brunswick) or 43 (Richmond).