This weekend is not the time to visit Bangor. You’ll find road construction or huge traffic delays at almost every turn, and, as my boss Kelly observed, “it feels like Long Island out there.”
Work continues on the perpetual frustration that is I-95 construction, and the beginning of next week marks the start of the Essex Street bridge replacement project. There are a couple of lane closures set up in both directions within the few mile stretch through Bangor. If that wasn’t bad enough, the I-395 entrance ramps are also closed, resulting in increased traffic on secondary roads in the area for detours.
But it doesn’t end there. Work continues on the Main Street paving project; the pavement along Main Street throughout downtown has been torn and parts of the sidewalks are obstructed by large rocks. Lanes are closed, too, resulting in longer traffic lines.
For the icing on the cake, the new Hollywood Slots project has for some unknown reason decided to use this construction-laden time as an opportunity to work on the I-395 exit ramps to Main Street. They’re building a devoted lane that will lead directly into the casino next summer (joy), and there’s fairly heavy construction along Main Street near 395.
In short, don’t go anywhere near the markers on this map (click for interactivity):
Does this really all have to happen at the same time? Sounds like pretty poor planning to me.