SOUTH PORTLAND — The proposed nighttime closure of the Veterans Memorial Bridge has been delayed by one day.
Jeraldine Chow-Herrera, spokeswoman for the $63 million bridge replacement project, said the existing bridge will now be closed from Monday, Oct. 24, through Friday, Oct. 28.
The original closure date would have been Sunday night, Oct. 23. The bridge will be closed each night from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Chow-Herrera said the dates were changed to accommodate a shipment of 40,000 tons of road salt, which is scheduled to arrive at the Sprague Terminal in Portland this Friday.
Terminal crews plan to work around the clock transporting the road salt to the Sprague Terminal in South Portland, a trip that will require that trucks be allowed to use the Veterans Memorial Bridge.
Peter Frye, manager of the Sprague Terminal, said the traveling public can expect to see up to 25 trucks an hour using the bridge over the weekend.
The closure is necessary so that crews can install a new underground communication conduit. That conduit, which runs under the existing bridge, must be encased in concrete and extended to the new bridge.
The new bridge is scheduled to open sometime during the summer of 2012. The old bridge will be removed in December 2012.
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.