So we have some excellent news.

We could have another interstate back online, much sooner than anticipated.

Carrie Riley from the Maine Department of Transportation put the bug in our ear that the southbound lanes of I-295 could open as early as Sunday morning, if the weather chooses to cooperate.

Yeah, THIS Sunday.

The 18-mile stretch was not scheduled to reopen until Aug. 30.

In a release from MaineDOT, Commissioner David A. Cole said the project "was a great success and underscored the reasoning to completely close the road to safely, quickly and effectively complete the work. We are extremely pleased we are able to open ahead of schedule."

Keep checking back to www.kjonline.com this weekend for updates on the official reopening.

Construction at various points on the Maine Turnpike may give drivers cause to slow down.

The northbound lane at mile marker 102 in West Gardiner will reopen at 5 p.m. where crews are working on a bridge. The lane will again close at 7 p.m. for overnight work, reopening at 5 a.m. tomorrow morning.

The northbound and southbound lanes between mile markers 106 and 109 in Farmingdale and Hallowell will close tonight at 5 p.m. for overnight work on two bridges.

The lanes will open again before the morning commute, at 5 a.m.

If you had to commute north on Route 201 through Farmingdale and Hallowell this morning, you probably encountered a less than pleasant surprise: traffic backed up to a standstill for a few miles.

Mark Latti said Maine DOT crews were the culprit. Crews were repairing a washout just south of the railroad crossing in both towns.

"The rains started to erode the road shoulder," Latti sid. "With more strong rains coming, we decided it needed to be fixed."

An excavator put in some large rock to create a "permanent erosion solution," Latti said.

The work should be done today, he said, and the commute will return to normal.

Road work on Bangor Street will start this evening, Maine Department of Transportation officials said.

The 0.6-mile stretch of road will undergo much needed milling and repaving. Work will start at the rotary and end just beyond North Belfast Avenue.

MaineDOT spokesman Mark Latti said both lanes will remain open during the day, and work will be done from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Latti said the road work should wrap up by Friday, weather permitting.

No traffic accidents have been reported for the commute home this evening.

We received an interesting e-mail today. A loyal reader was curious about road work being done on three miles of Route 27 in Belgrade.

“The stretch of road from near Hammond Lumber towards the 'village' is, at this point, one of the best stretches of roadway in Maine,” the reader wrote. “Why would they not spend the time and money elsewhere to fix other roads? I can think of a lot more, especially state routes, that could use it.”

Well, we tried to get as much of the scoop as we could.

Paving will start on that three-mile stretch tomorrow and hopefully wrap up by Monday if Mother Nature is agreeable, Maine Department of Transportation spokeswoman Meg Lane said.

Lane was not entirely sure why the work was needed, but added a new guardrail was installed.

“Right now, there is grooved pavement 25 feet wide, as well as on the shoulder,” Lane said. “People will need to be aware of that, as well as the paving work.”

Smooth sailing so far.

That’s the word today from the Maine Department of Transportation regarding the rerouting of motorists to U.S. Route 201 because of the southbound closure on Interstate 295.

The interstate, from Gardiner to Topsham, will be closed for 10 weeks.

At this point, the rerouting seems to be working, according to the Maine Department of Transportation spokeswoman Meg Lane.

As the project progresses, she said the department will continue to monitor traffic and meet with first responders along that corridor to listen to their concerns.

For everyone’s safety — motorists and residents — she said speed limits on Route 201 have been reduced by five miles per hour.

“It appears to be running smoothly,” Lane said today. “This morning I got a couple of e-mails to that effect. But we will continue to monitor it and make adjustments as necessary. And encourage people to use the Maine Turnpike if they’re going south and if they are commercial vehicles.”

Those who live in and around Readfield should expect traffic delays and possible detours next week, town officials announced today.

Two miles of the Plains Road will be reshaped and repaved starting Monday. The work should wrap up by the end of the week, town officials believe.

It will be a quiet commute home tonight; no traffic accidents have been reported this afternoon.

Today's skies might have been gray and dreary, but the roads have remained quiet, according to area law enforcement. No accidents have been reported in the greater Augusta area.

The Kennebec Commuter got an interesting phone call today from a gentleman wanting a status report on I-295. The lanes haven't shut down yet, but be warned that at midnight on June 16, no one will be traveling that way until the end of August.

Additionally, the gentleman said, the 5-1-1 information number for the interstate's driving conditions is not working. We're looking into the problem, but in the meantime, be sure to check out www.kjonline.com for the latest updates on the interstate project.

With the much-anticipated Memorial Day Weekend approaching, the Maine Department of Transportation is encouraging now more than ever for travelers to use the turnpike, as work on Interstate 295 will continue through the holiday.

The folks at the Maine Department of Transportation are busy this month.

Here's a brief round-up of up-coming projects:

Tomorrow, bridge maintenance crews will start cleaning the Second Street Bridge in Hallowell. The day-long project will go from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, crews will repave the surface of the bridge.

The detour will take commuters driving south from Second Street to North Street, onto Route 201 and finally Winthrop Street. Commuters going north will follow the same route in the opposite direction. The project should last only one day.

Next week, traffic engineering crews will install traffic count loops on Route 3 in South China. The westbound lane will close first, then the eastbound lane.

Drivers are urged to use caution in all construction zones.

Turnpike crews are continuing to work on the turnpike, both just north and south of Augusta.

Interstate 95 will remain closed for the rest of the week as crews repave the southbound stretch of interstate from mile marker 130 to 118.

South of the capital city, mile marker 100 to 102 will be closed during the day from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. for road work.

Here's a brief update of spring/summer construction projects in central Maine that affect your daily commute on the Maine Turnpike:

Work crews are still installing utility lines along Route 126 in West Gardiner for the future toll plaza. The lanes are being shifted for 12 hours each day, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Maine Turnpike Authority officials said. Speeds on Route 126 have been reduced to 30 mph during lane shifts.

The southbound lane of the Turnpike near Farmingdale (Mile 106) has been reopened for traffic, officials said this afternoon.

Be prepared to slow down this evening if you're taking Route 126 eastbound though West Gardiner.

Work crews will shift traffic on to the shoulder of the road so utility lines can be laid between Gardiner Area Middle School and the turnpike.

Speeds are going to be reduced to 30 mph until 6 p.m., when the traffic shift is lifted, Maine Turnpike Authority officials said.

Drivers in West Gardiner shouldn’t worry about gaining time on their commute starting today, when work crews commence a four-month project to lay water and sewer lines along Route 126, between the off-ramp for I-295 and Gardiner’s town line, Maine Turnpike Authority spokesman Dan Paradee announced this morning.

The water and sewer lines will provide service to the new West Gardiner toll plaza, slated to open by mid-November.

Paradee said the project is expected to continue until mid-summer, but the work will not hinder traffic beyond “occasional and brief traffic stops” for blasting.

Construction season in central Maine is well underway, as the Maine Department of Transportation commenced repaving a 12-mile section of Interstate 95 between Sidney and Waterville.

Pittston residents may have noticed some changes on Route 126 today.

The Maine DOT has started work on 2.6 miles of the roadway. There will be tree cutting, replacing culverts, relocating utility poles, and a host of other projects.

DOT spokesman John Rodrigue said the project, which starts at the intersection of routes 126 and 27 and will head toward Whitefield, will be fully completed in September 2008.

What are your thoughts on the new project? Is this something the area needs? Let me know what you think.