Rest area will fill gap between Portland, Bangor
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BY BETTY ADAMS
Staff Writer Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel Monday, July 28, 2008

WEST GARDINER -- Bulldozers rumbled, excavators dug and loaders picked up material and rapidly crossed the large, somewhat muddy construction site Friday on Route 126 near the intersection of the Maine Turnpike and Interstate 295.

Engineers say the new $11.6 million service plaza that will do double duty for the two interstate highways is on schedule for a November opening.

The plaza buildings are framed out. The small building to be used as a CN Brown fuel station stands apart from the main plaza building. Otherwise, the plaza will closely resemble the service plaza on the turnpike in Kennebunk.

Both buildings in West Gardiner have brick facades, but the larger building has an octagonal roof on the second story.

On Friday, the metal frames of the roof remained visible. The floor was a large concrete pad with upright pipes marking utility connections. Operators of a small loader and bulldozer worked together to grade one of the areas where the floor had yet to be poured.

One large interior area is to be occupied by the Center for Maine Craft. The center, run by The Maine Crafts Association, a statewide nonprofit organization, will feature the work of 200 Maine artists and crafters and be managed by Christine Krauss.

Other traveler services will be provided under contracts with HMSHost, which has the contract to provide concessions in all the turnpike service areas. Named as possible tenants in West Gardiner are Starbucks Coffee, Burger King, KFC, an ice cream vendor and Z-Market, a convenience store.

Currently masked in by blue membrane, the building's roof will be painted Hartford green, said Tianna Higgins, an engineer with HNTB of Westbrook, the construction inspector for the Maine Turnpike Authority.

The project is actually taking place in two parts.

At the plaza site, heavy equipment belonging to Steve McGee Construction shifted earth and other materials. Langford & Low has the contract to erect the buildings and construct the car parking lot in front of the building.

Next door is a staging yard for Bridge Corp., which is creating the truck parking lot behind the main plaza building and the ramp around the building. At any given time, about 50 workers are on site, Higgins said. Bridge Corp. also has the contract to bring a water and sewer service line from the terminus of the Gardiner Water District lines to the plaza along Route 126.

"They're paving today, and if all goes well, they should be done," said Scott Warchol, project engineer for the Maine Turnpike Authority, about Friday's work.

Next, the Bridge Corp. workers should turn to the I-295 off-ramps, pushing back guardrails, widening the shoulders and constructing turning lane into the plaza, Warchol said.

Along with a turning lane, the plaza entrance will be marked by a flashing yellow signal.

Warchol said Route 126 traffic will continue to flow in both directions, although the lanes may be narrowed during construction. Bruce Pelletier, a spokesman for the Maine Turnpike Authority, said the agency has not received complaints about construction or traffic around the facility.

The project was initiated by the Maine Turnpike Authority and the Maine Department of Transportation to fill a gap in service areas between Portland and Bangor and to provide a safe rest area for drivers, according to an environmental assessment form filed with the Federal Highway Administration.

Betty Adams -- 621-5631

badams@centralmaine.com

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