SCARBOROUGH – A two-year road reconstruction project on Pleasant Hill Road in Scarborough, which could snarl commuter traffic and cause headaches for local residents, is expected to start within the next few weeks.

The work will take place on the section of road that runs between Highland Avenue and U.S. Route 1, according to Mike Shaw, the town’s director of public works. He said the project would also include water main work by the Portland Water District.

During the first phase of the project, which runs from Rigby Road to Highland Avenue, a new water line would be installed, the roadway would be widened to provide better bicycle and pedestrian access, and improved drainage measures would be added.

Shaw said about 10,000 cars a day use Pleasant Hill Road, according to the latest traffic count by the Maine Department of Transportation, which is paying for a good portion of the $1.2 million road project.

According to Shaw, the state is pitching in $500,000 under its municipal partnership program, while the town is paying the remaining $700,000. The first phase of the project will run between June and the end of October.

The second phase of the project, which will rebuild Pleasant Hill Road between Rigby Road and Route 1, is scheduled to take place during the spring and summer of 2015, Shaw said.

While the goal is to keep the roadway open to two-way traffic as much as possible, Shaw said there would be periods of time when the road would be reduced to single-lane traffic, generally between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. He also said some night and weekend work could take place.

He said the project is necessary because “the road is in need of a new pavement wearing course and there are drainage issues that need to be addressed and have been an issue for many years.”

Dearborn Construction was selected to do the roadwork, Shaw said, and the company is scheduled to start the project by the second week in June.

– Kate Irish Collins

A CLOSER LOOK

For more information on the upcoming reconstruction project on Pleasant Hill Road in Scarborough see the town website, at www.scarboroughmaine.org, or call the Public Works Department at 730-4400.

Work is expected to begin soon on roadway improvements to Pleasant Hill Road in Scarborough.