The Maine Department of Transportation has established a Web site dedicated to providing information on a proposal to shut down both southbound lanes of Interstate 295 between Gardiner and Topsham for reconstruction this summer.

Check out the Web site here.

DOT planners and engineers are moving ahead planning for the project, although a final decision has not been made whether to close down the roughly 20-mile section of highway.

Joyce Taylor, assistant bureau director of project development for DOT, said a chemical reaction is occurring in the concrete under the surface of I-295, causing it to fall apart so much that the project, which normally would take much longer to plan, is on a fast track to get done this summer.

Taylor said shutting down the southbound lanes for the reconstruction project would reduce costs, allow the project to be completed in about three months instead of three years, and increase the safety of construction workers.

However, area residents — especially on Route 201, where much of the traffic would be diverted to — have expressed concerns about their own safety given the anticipated major increase in traffic on local roads.

Click here to see a map of the project area