Widening progresses as new lanes open Friday

BIDDEFORD – A short section of the Maine Turnpike will get new lanes this week as the highway’s widening project progresses.

The Maine Turnpike Authority on Friday plans to open a third lane both northbound and southbound on a 1.7-mile stretch of turnpike in Biddeford.

The opening of the new lanes will mark the end of the fourth year in the five-year, 30-mile widening project.

Maine Turnpike Authority spokesman Dan Paradee said the reconstructed Exit 4 Biddeford interchange and toll plaza will also be completed as of Friday.

“It was the last interchange south of Portland to be brought up to modern highway standards,” said Paradee. “It was built in 1947.”.

When the Biddeford stretch is widened, the widening project will be complete except for a 5.4-mile stretch of highway between mile 25 in Kennebunk and mile 31 in Biddeford, which will be widened next year.

Traffic delays next year could seem worse for drivers because work is scheduled on a longer stretch of road, Paradee said. In the past two years, the work was broken up into shorter segments.

“What typically happens when you have a longer lane closure, and when traffic is heavy and it begins to back up, is it takes longer for that backup to clear,” he said.

During the first year of work, the turnpike authority widened six miles of highway between the York toll plaza and Exit 2 in Wells and two miles between Exit 6A and Exit 6 in Scarborough.