HAMPDEN – After nearly five months of road construction that prompted motorists to seek other routes to and from Bangor, the business corridor along Route 1A in East Hampden is about to resurface.

Twenty-five of the 48 businesses on Route 1A, from R&K Variety near Turtle Head to Higgins Electric near the “tin bridge” railroad overpass, will hold open houses at their businesses on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 15-16, for what amounts to a milelong block party. Organizers of the celebration are Jeff Rawcliffe, Kathy Smith, Ken White, Mariah Dubay and Jamie Bryant.

“The construction affected all of us to one degree or another,” said Rawcliffe, owner of Hampden Auto Center. He estimated that the number of cars passing along that section of Route 1A declined from 8,000 per day to fewer than 4,000 per day while the construction was in progress. “It’s been a ghost town this summer.”

But all that is about to change as construction winds down, commuters resume their normal travel routines and business gets back to normal.

Kathy Smith, owner of R&K Variety, said she was looking forward to welcoming customers back to East Hampden.

“This used to be pothole heaven,” she said, “but now the road is smooth. [Road construction crews] did a real nice job.”

“The road construction crews worked hard to keep disruption at a minimum,” Rawcliffe said. He said Sargent & Sargent of Hampden kept the highway clean and did its best to minimize dust that inevitably was stirred up by the work. The MacMillan Co. of Hampden replaced water pipes, which freshened the area’s water supply. And Lane Construction paved the road and replaced abutting pavement that had been dug up during construction.

The celebration will include prizes of $100 gift certificates from participating businesses. In order to be eligible for a drawing for the prizes, a person must visit five businesses and have a card punched at each one.

Other attractions include a display of 15 or 20 race cars from Unity Raceway, Speedway 95 and Winterport Dragway; clowns, live radio broadcasts by Z107.3 and Q106.5, SpongeBob Square Pants, Disney characters, face painting, balloons and food. A fireworks display is planned for 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 15.

“This is a nice time of year to have fireworks because it’s dark early and little kids are not in bed yet and can come and enjoy it,” Rawcliffe said. Fireworks may be viewed from various points along Route 1A and from Turtle Head Marina.

In addition, a limited number of float plane rides will be available as prizes from Waterfront Marine, a new business in the process of locating at the former Snow and Nealley building in East Hampden, said Mike Gladu, general manager of the new business. “We wanted to be a part of this block party even though we aren’t officially open yet,” Gladu said. The business is scheduled to open next spring and will include an “in the water” showroom for boats.

AcadiaRUSH, a band that plays rock, blues and contemporary jazz will perform out of doors in the area from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 15. Eric Rovito, who works at PDQ Door, one of the East Hampden businesses, plays bass in the band.

“[The road] is lots better than it has been for 20 years,” Rovito said. “We’re happy to have it done.”