Road and bridge construction has started on Phase II of the Presque Isle bypass.
This second portion of the roadway will stretch 6.17 miles from Conant Road to Route 1 just outside Westfield, connecting to the existing 1.7-mile piece between Fort and Conant roads.
The Maine Department of Transportation project will divert heavy truck traffic from Presque Isle’s Main Street, aligning with a reimagining of the downtown through the department’s Village Partnership Initiative. With a $78 million price tag, Phase II came in as the state’s largest road project in 2025.
Workers started clearing trees in March, six years later than originally planned. The Orono-based Sargent Corporation won the bid in 2025.
Phase I opened in 2019. Phase II is set to open 10 years later, by the fall of 2029.
The Maine Department of Transportation moved in June to cut $400 million from projects because of funding gaps in the work plan. Money for Presque Isle’s project was in hand before that announcement, so the project remains fully funded, according to Andrew Gobeil, the department’s communications director.
So far, workers have moved 60,000 cubic yards of earth and trees to start forging the roadway, Gobeil said.
“Crews are also preparing for the installation of major culverts and continuing construction of the project’s two bridges,” he said, adding that despite rain in May and June, the project remains on track.
The bypass idea first surfaced in the 1999 Aroostook County Transportation Study. An originally proposed Phase III would have joined Phase I to Route 1 north of Presque Isle, but that final leg is uncertain and has not been funded.