MaineDOT begins multiple projects in 2025, investing $4.8 billion in road repairs and upgrades. Unique projects include a roundabout in Damariscotta, bridge replacements and ferry terminal upgrades. Asian American nonprofits also commence construction on a community center and Buddhist temple in Westbrook.
Now that the weather is warming, the season of road construction is quickly approaching in Maine.
In the state's midcoast region, details of that work are starting to emerge.
The Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) has released its three-year work plan, which outlines how the state is investing $4.8 billion on more than 2,700 projects in the coming years. With the influx of funding from the 2021 federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed, the agency said its broad goal is to shift from "make do" to "make progress."
In 2025, according to the Bangor Daily News, drivers in the midcoast can expect all types of road repairs, from repaving on busy U.S. Highway 1 to the replacement of bridges and culverts. But there are other more distinct projects in the works as well, including new bike paths and ferry terminal upgrades.
Here are some of the most important transportation construction projects happening in the region in 2025:
New Roundabout in Damariscotta
It is not every day that a Maine community gets a new traffic pattern, let alone one as distinct as a roundabout.
But in Damariscotta, that is the solution engineers have devised to address the danger facing drivers at the busy intersection of U.S. 1 and Belvedere Road.
MaineDOT officials have said that 19 crashes happened there in the five-year period from 2016 to 2020, including one that was fatal, according to the Lincoln County News. And 62 percent of those accidents resulted in injuries, compared to an average of 36 percent across all rural intersections in Maine.
Construction of the roundabout is set to begin before the end of April 2025 and finish in November. While the intersection is under construction, MaineDOT will temporarily use traffic signals while closing Belvedere Road to the west and barring southbound U.S. 1 traffic from turning east on Belvedere Road.
The project also will add new signs, striping and lighting to improve safety.
Road, Bridge, Trail Improvements
U.S. 1 itself is due to get several other repairs throughout Maine's midcoast, with some of the biggest concentrated in Brunswick.
Among other upgrades, MaineDOT has reserved $16 million for fixes along a 3-mi. stretch of the northbound and southbound U.S. 1, starting roughly near the intersection of Cushing Street and extending west to Old Bath Road.
At the other end of the midcoast, the Bangor Daily News noted on April 22, 2025, the Veterans Memorial Bridge in Belfast, which carries U.S. 1 over the Passagassawaukeag River, also is due for work. MaineDOT has planned repairs for the western side of the bridge, including regrading and stabilizing the land beneath it and jacking up its superstructure so that its bearings can be refurbished.
The section of rail trail under the bridge may be closed to pedestrians during the work.
Elsewhere, at least three bridges will be replaced in 2025, including the Meadow Brook Bridge along Maine Highway 215 in Newcastle; the Farrar Bridge along Maine 105 in Washington; and the Colson Bridge along U.S. 1A Prospect.
A large culvert on Maine 7 in Brooks also is set to be replaced and a mile of Sears Island Road in Searsport will be stabilized.
In addition, bike paths in the midcoast communities of Brunswick, Bath and Boothbay also are slated to be constructed or repaired.
Ferry Projects Upgrades Will Cost $105M
Maine's state ferry terminals also will see big changes in 2025 and in the near future, according to the Bangor news source, with the transportation agency reserving $105 million for those projects over the next three years.
Buildings at the Vinalhaven state ferry terminal will be demolished and removed in mid-late 2025, although it is unclear which structures will be effected at this point and the transfer bridges at Bass Harbor, Swans Island, Vinalhaven and North Haven will all be upgraded.
In addition, the Lincolnville and Islesboro ferry bridge approaches will get needed repairs this year and the Lincolnville ferry terminal will be improved to accommodate for the charging of the hybrid ferry that is set to start service in 2027.
Airport Renovations Also Set
Three of Maine's midcoast airports all have renovations planned to begin in the coming months.
The Brunswick executive airport is getting a new customs and border control facility, for which MaineDOT is providing $5.8 million. The facility also is due to receive several upgrades to its runways and taxiways beyond 2025.
In the community of Owls Head, plans call for the Knox County regional airport to get safety and infrastructure improvements totaling $1.5 million and the Wiscasset municipal airport will see some changes as well, including a hangar door replacement and a new runway and taxiway.
Khmer Maine, Watt Samaki Begin Building Garden in Westbrook
A pair of Asian-American nonprofits broke ground on a welcome garden and entrance that are part of a larger plan to develop a community center and Buddhist temple complex in Portland's western suburb of Westbrook.
Khmer Maine works to improve the social and economic well-being of Cambodians in Maine through cultural exchange, community building and civic engagement. The group also partners to support members of Maine's southeast Asian and Pacific islander communities and strives for solidarity with black and indigenous communities.
Its partner in the venture, Watt Samaki, is a nonprofit Cambodian Buddhist temple.
When finished, the welcome garden will feature picnic tables, statues and parking for public trail access, according to Khmer Maine's newsletter.
Woods Excavating LLC, in Gorham, Maine; and Portland's Acorn Engineering, provided their services for the project.
Mainebiz noted April 21, 2025 that the space is planned to feature botanical gardens showcasing diverse plant life and heritage, community gardens where neighbors can grow and share fresh produce and trails for walking, reflection and making a connection with nature.
The overall plan for the center includes cultural celebrations, educational programs, support services and to become a welcoming hub that fosters belonging, wellness and a deeper understanding of Maine's Asian-American and Pacific islander community.
Approved by the Westbrook planning board last summer, it will be Maine's first center serving Asian-American and Pacific islander residents.
Hopes are that the welcome garden will set the stage for a larger plan to develop an Asian-American community center and Buddhist temple complex in Westbrook.
The more than 30 acres of forested land is owned by Watt Samaki and is located on Cumberland Street in Westbrook, although an official street address is still pending. The temple acquired the property in 2023 with the goal of creating a new facility after the local Cambodian Buddhist community outgrew its current location on 8.6 acres at 128 Back Nippen Rd. in Buxton.
Maine's Cambodian community numbered just more than 2,000 people in 2022. In total, Mainebiz noted, the state's Asian-American and Pacific islander population had grown to 26,500 residents, including those who are multiracial.
In the past two decades, the largest population growth has been focused in Cumberland, York and Penobscot counties, Mainebiz reported.
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