WESTBROOK, Maine — The Maine Turnpike will close a busy exit in Westbrook on Sunday as part of an ongoing project to widen the highway in that area.
Starting at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, the northbound offramp at Exit 48 in Westbrook will be closed. Turnpike staff said they plan to reopen the offramp by 6:30 p.m. Friday, May 12.
The agency is asking drivers to use Exit 47 (Rand Road) during this time as an alternative route.
This ramp closure is necessary to reconstruct the ramp to accommodate widened lanes, Rebecca Grover said, the public outreach coordinator for the Maine Turnpike Authority.
All other ramps at Exit 48 will remain open. There will be a closure at the Exit 48 northbound onramp the following week.
MTA spokesperson Erin Courtney said 4.4 million vehicles used that interchange in 2022. In May 2022 alone, 375,648 drivers used it, which she estimated was about 12,500 per day.
This project was awarded to Shaw Brothers of Gorham, and it is anticipated to be completed on Nov. 14, 2023.
Shaw Brothers continues to work on the overhead sign structure foundation, street lighting along the Exit 48 southbound off-ramp, median drainage, barrier installation, and paving. Night work was scheduled to begin on the project the week of April 24 and is anticipated to last two to three weeks. The temporary closures of the southbound ramps are currently anticipated to be completed in June.
This work is part of the Portland Area Widening Project, adding a third travel lane in both directions from miles 46 to 49.
The work includes embankment construction, roadway gravels and pavement construction, culvert and closed drainage installation, concrete median barrier construction, concrete median pier protection, bridge abutment slope protection, overhead sign structure removal, overhead sign structure installation, roadway signing and striping, highway lighting, guardrail, and maintenance of traffic.