PORTLAND — Get ready to navigate another summer’s worth of road work on Interstate 295.

State transportation officials acknowledged Tuesday that last summer’s traffic jams on the highway were the result of poor planning on their part. This summer, they said, a shorter to-do list and more roadside assistance should make the project easier on drivers.

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This summer, the transportation department will take steps to keep traffic rolling during construction on Interstate-295 in Portland and South Portland. 2011 File Photo/Tim Greenway

Motorists encountered construction delays on I-295 last summer. 2011 File Photo/Tim Greenway

Still, there will be rough going.

“We kind of blew it, if you will, in terms of estimating the (amount of) work the contractor could get done,” said Joyce Taylor, director of the Maine Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Project Development, about last year’s work on southbound bridges and overpasses on I-295 through Portland and South Portland.

On Tuesday, Taylor announced the timetable and work plans for the $7.9 million project this summer on northbound I-295 bridges and overpasses from the Maine Turnpike/I-295 interchange, through South Portland and Portland to the Washington Avenue interchange in Portland.

Because of this winter’s mild weather, crews can start preliminary work this month, with construction starting in earnest in April.

Taylor said some northbound work was actually rolled into last year’s $24 million project, which focused on southbound lanes. While that added to the overload in 2011, it should minimize the impact of this year’s work, she said.

The transportation department is taking steps this year to minimize the likelihood of delays, she said, “however, there still will be some pain.”

Officials estimate that most drivers will face regular delays of six minutes in the work area because of the construction, compared with four-minute delays last year. Those numbers, Taylor said, don’t take into account accidents or breakdowns, which last year created some major traffic tie-ups.

This summer, the transportation department will take steps to keep traffic rolling.

Taylor said the construction will be broken into five work zones, with construction generally being done in only one zone at a time, so drivers won’t feel as if they’re in one work zone all the way through South Portland and Portland.

Detour routes will also be better, she said, with better signs. Last summer, two contractors on the job used different detour signs, and they sometimes set up routes that were difficult to follow, Taylor said.

Taylor said she may ask a friend who’s relatively unfamiliar with Portland to try to follow the detours, to make sure they’re easy to understand.

Drivers can also use the Internet to check traffic. The transportation department has installed two webcams to stream video of the traffic around the Forest Avenue interchange to the department’s website, at mdot.gov.

A common problem last year was delays when drivers got into minor accidents or had roadside breakdowns in the one-lane construction areas. This summer, Taylor said, contractors will have materials to help with minor mishaps, like gas for a driver who runs out.

The transportation department also will put up “crash advisory” signs asking drivers who get into minor accidents to get out of the way if there are no injuries. Drivers will be encouraged to drive to an area where there’s no construction to exchange insurance information, and state police will ask drivers who get into accidents to move away from the construction zone, said Sgt. Jonathan Shapiro.

That strikes Bonnie Zacharias of Brunswick as a good idea.

“There were at least two or three accidents a week” that caused tie-ups, said Zacharias, who works in downtown Portland. Moving the cars involved, she said “would make it more tolerable.”

Camille Shiffler, who also commutes daily from Brunswick, said she’s already anticipating that her trip home will be about a half-hour longer because of the construction this summer.

Fridays, when tourists often flow into the state going north, may be particularly difficult, she said, but she’ll grin and bear it.

“You get used to it,” she said. “It’s the tourists – I should say non-Mainers – who make it ‘interesting.’ I’ll be nice.” Taylor said a key goal of the project is to not create so much trouble that it scares people away from the area.

“Come to Portland,” she said. “You can still come here. But check the webcams.”

The transportation department hopes the work can be finished early.

Last year, the work began in May and ran into October. With work starting in April this year, contractors will get bonuses if they’re done by Sept. 1, Taylor said, and face penalties if the work stretches beyond that date.

But that won’t be the final flashing light.

In the summer of 2013, crews will be paving the northbound lanes of I-295.

Staff Writer Edward D. Murphy can be contacted at 791-6465 or at: emurphy@pressherald.com

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