MAINE, USA — A sure sign of spring in Maine, along with blooming flowers and rising temperatures: orange traffic cones. Mainers can expect to soon be seeing roadwork and construction in areas across the state.
"It is a very different year, in terms of the funding, but to the traveling public, good or bad, I think you'll be seeing a lot of orange cones out there," said Maine Department of Transportation commissioner Bruce Van Note.
Van Note says that amid the pandemic, the MDOT has seen a roughly $30 million revenue shortfall. That's from revenue sources like vehicle registration and fuel tax. This year, Van Note says that funding from projects is coming from other sources, like bonds and federal relief.
Van Note says funding has been secured for a number of projects as the MDOT begins its roadwork season. There are notable projects, including on the Madawaska Bridge, the I-395 connector in Bangor or Brewer, and along I-295 in the Greater Portland area.
"This is kind of a 'just in time' funding delivery model that we don't normally do. We are putting out work now based on our faith that the legislators and appropriators will come through," said Van Note.
He anticipates additional relief aid coming to the MDOT as part of state bonds and from the federal government.
Funding won't be the only change for the Maine DOT this roadwork season. At the start of the pandemic, traffic levels in dropped roughly 40 percent. That allowed crews to work more safely, and quickly during the daytime hours, which can be challenging on busier roads. Van Note says currently, traffic levels are down roughly 5 percent to 10 percent.
"We're not going to be able to close down huge lanes for months at a time like we did last year. So I think you're going to see a little bit more traffic impacts, because we are going to try to utilize daytime as much as we can," said Van Note.
The commissioner expects this to lead to more construction and roadwork related traffic than in 2020.