SCARBOROUGH — Less than a month after winning the contract, Gorham-based R.J. Grondin & Sons has started overhauling the Dunstan Corner intersections of Route 1 and Broadturn, Pine Point and Payne roads.

Work began Monday on a $2.7 million project to extend the southbound left turn lane on Route 1 to Pine Point Road, reconfigure the way Broadturn and Pine Point roads converge at Route 1, and shift the entrance from Route 1 to Payne Road north from the current intersection.

Maine Department of Transportation spokesman Ted Talbot said both lanes of northbound Route 1 will be open weekdays from 6-9 a.m., and the Route 1 southbound lanes will be open weekdays from 3-6 p.m. Otherwise, traffic in both directions will be reduced to one lane on weekdays and weekends.

Most work will be done during daytime. Some paving and other jobs will be done from 6 p.m.-6 a.m. Mondays through Thursdays, with “an occasional Sunday,” Talbot said.

The first phase of work on Route 1 will occur through next month, and remaining work on the intersecting roads will be completed next spring and in early summer, Talbot said.

Drivers should not expect delays from preliminary work on a three-quarter-mile stretch of Cummings Road from Running Hill Road in South Portland to the Westbrook city line, Talbot said.

The work to clear brush and improve drainage, however, comes in advance of a large-scale reconstruction project scheduled to begin when weather permits next spring.

The road surface will be completely removed and reconstructed, which will cause delays. Heavy traffic volume requires the extensive work, Talbot said.

“The best way to do it is a full reconstruction,” he said.

David Harry can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 110 or dharry@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidHarry8.

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