GARDINER – After a nearly two-month shutdown, the southbound lanes of Interstate 295 from Gardiner to Topsham again are open to traffic.

The Department of Transportation reopened the 18-mile stretch of road shortly after 6 p.m. Saturday.

Crews managed to get the work done despite one of the wettest construction seasons on record.

Commissioner David Cole said Pike Industries and its subcontractors worked 16 hours a day, seven days a week, completing the 28.5 million-dollar project without any job site injuries.

The shutdown of the southbound lanes allowed the contractor to work multiple crews at multiple locations for long hours and thus avoid having to do the work in stages over three years.