Maine will receive over $24 million in federal funding to replace a section of the Hogan Road overpass over I-95 in Bangor as part of long-delayed plans to overhaul that highway interchange.
Sen. Susan Collins, the ranking member of the Senate’s transportation appropriations subcommittee, said Monday that the Maine Department of Transportation would receive $24.6 million from a U.S. Department of Transportation grant program to replace one portion of the Hogan Road overpass, which is 50 years old, and raise the other portion to allow freight to pass more safely underneath.
The project is part of a larger one that state transportation officials introduced in 2016 to overhaul the highway interchange that serves the Bangor Mall area. The redesigned interchange would change the traffic pattern using a “diverging diamond” pattern that would eliminate left turns from I-95 off ramps that cross paths with traffic headed in conflicting directions, and add two crossover points where cars would need to stop at traffic lights before continuing east or west on Hogan Road.
The Maine Department of Transportation had to amend the project several times, pushing back its initial, estimated 2019 completion date, after discovering that the bridge carrying the northern side of Hogan Road over I-95 needed to be replaced before construction could begin.
The state transit agency also planned to build walking and biking trails at that intersection to protect cyclists and pedestrians.
“The Hogan Road overpass and interchange project in Bangor will significantly enhance safety for drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians as well as help to alleviate traffic congestion at the intersection,” Collins said in a statement.
