The Maine Department of Transportation (DOT) needs to replace a culvert on the Middle Road in Woolwich and will be closing the road for up to four days to do the work, Woolwich road commissioner Jack Shaw said.

The work was expected to be completed by the end of last month prior to repaving, according to information from the DOT. The work will take place north of the Chaps Cross Road, at the north end of town, less than a mile south of the Dresden/Woolwich town line. It will take up 200 feet of roadway, according to a DOT press release dated September 7.

Shaw told selectmen during their regularly scheduled meeting at the Woolwich Central School Tuesday night signs have been posted to notify motorists of the construction project, scheduled to start on September 11. 

It involves replacing a three-foot culvert with one that is six feet long, according to DOT public information officer Ted Talbot. Talbot said the reason for the road closure is to allow workers to do the job all at once. They need to replace the deteriorating culvert and increase it in size to match current regulations. Talbot said it could take up to four days to complete the work. 

“There will be no way through there,” Shaw said.

Motorists heading south on Route 127 (Middle Road) in Dresden can take the Indian Road toward Richmond to Route 128 (River Road), which connects with Route 127 again. 

Northbound traffic on Route 127 in Woolwich will come to the roadblock just after the Chaps Cross Road, which leads to Route 128.