BY DARRELL HALEN

A large portion of the new Route 111 bypass, which is expected to bring traffic relief to parts of Windham and Salem, is tentatively scheduled to open at the end of October.

The 2.5-mile stretch from Searles Road in Windham to Zachary Crossing Road in Salem, intersects Route 28 about a half-mile north of the busy Route 28/Lake Street/Shadow Lake Road intersection in Salem where a Hess gasoline station is located.

The opening of the bypass is expected to relieve traffic on Range Road in Windham and Shadow Lake in Salem, which are part of the current Route 111 and connect to that intersection.

The intersections at Route 28 and Zachary Crossing Road will have both have traffic lights. Zachary Crossing is opposite a connector to East Broadway.

The state transportation project costs roughly $30 million.

The state still needs to construct a connection from the Searles end of the bypass to the I-93 Exit 3 ramps in Windham.