Drivers traveling east through Manchester on U.S. Route 202 heading toward Augusta will be seeing one less travel lane between Old Winthrop Road and Pelton Hill Road starting Thursday morning.

There will now be a center turning lane that is meant for left-turning traffic from both directions. That center lane will replace one of the current eastbound travel lanes.

The Department of Transportation officials say that the project is meant to reduce accidents on the busy mile-long stretch of road.

There were 31 crashes on that section of road over a three-year period between 2011 to 2014.

The section of road starting near J & S Oil and running to Pelton Hill Road near the Augusta-Manchester line is scheduled to be paved at night this week.

Striping work will be done to designate the new lane usage.

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