By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer

NAPLES — When it comes to the Independence Day weekend, most people dread the time spent in traffic.

On the Monday after the Fourth of July, people may want to rethink their driving patterns. That’s because well-traveled Route 11 is on the state’s work list to be repaved, and work begins on Monday.

The Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) awarded the $3.6 million dollar project to Lane Construction of Connecticut, according to an MDOT press release.

The work spans from Route 302 to White Oak Hill Road near the Casco/Poland town lines, which is a 10.44-mile stretch.

Casco Town Manager Dave Morton said he attended his first MDOT progress meeting on Friday. Those gatherings of the contractor and state and local officials will continue throughout the summer and autumn.

The biggest impact to the public will be brief traffic delays.

“Traffic delays will be constant; and they will make efforts to delay traffic for no more than five minutes in either direction. However, these delays will occur during most phases of the construction,” Morton said.

The construction will likely last through October 14, he said.

Shoulder reconstruction will be addressed first.

The next step is the actual reclamation process, he said. A machine will grind up the existing pavement, which is then infused with a cement mixture. The new pavement is then re-applied to the roadway.

However, that process will not happen on the full length of the construction area, according to Morton.

Other stretches of the roadway will be shimmed after the reclamation paving is finished, he said.