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New Caribou Connector in Maine Opens to Traffic

New Caribou Connector in Maine Opens to Traffic

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Highway

T.Y. Lin International (TYLI), a globally recognized full-service infrastructure consulting firm, announces the opening of the Caribou Connector in Maine. Workers put the finishing touches to 3.8 miles of new highway connecting U.S. Routes 161 and 1, just south of Caribou. Highlights included an official ribbon cutting ceremony on August 17, 2012. “The work has been…fantastic,” Martine Burnham, MaineDOT resident-inspector, told the Bangor Daily News. “The contractors are top notch and everyone has gone above and beyond to give us a good project.”

The team of Sargent Corporation, Lane Construction, and TYLI was selected by MaineDOT to design and build the arterial highway around northeastern Caribou in 2010. Funded jointly by the state and federal governments, the $20 million connector was designed to minimize effects on existing downtown businesses and agricultural operations while also encouraging economic growth in Caribou and Aroostock County.

TYLI’s design consisted of 2-12’ travel lanes with 8’ shoulders; a flyover bridge at Route 89; a diamond interchange at the Van Buren Road intersection with an overpass at Route 1; multiple open drainage systems; roadside features; a new intersection; and construction of four bridges. TYLI was also responsible for signage and pavement markings, roadway lighting, stormwater quality and quantity management, traffic analysis, utility coordination, multi-use trail connections, right-of-way mapping, geotechnical design coordination, and landscaping design coordination.

TYLI’s design of “critter crossings" included a 54” elliptical culvert which allows safe passage of wildlife under the highway. Other crossings and bridges were widened or lengthened to accommodate wildlife and ensure their safety. An 8’ tall fence adjacent to the new road was installed to prevent its access by moose and deer.

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