ACCORDING TO THE MDOT three-year work plan released in January, an estimated $500,000 is available for rehabilitation of the bridge that carries U.S. Route 1 over the Nequasset Lake outlet. The work is anticipated to take place in 2015-16.
Maine Department of Transportation representatives will be present at a preliminary public meeting Tuesday in Woolwich to discuss the rehabilitation of Nequasset Bridge.
“The department is particularly interested in learning local views relative to project consistency with local comprehensive plans,” an MDOT news release stated, and “discovering local resources, and identifying local concerns and issues.”
According to the MDOT three-year work plan released in January, an estimated $500,000 is available for rehabilitation of the bridge that carries U.S. Route 1 over the Nequasset Lake outlet. The work is anticipated to take place in 2015-16.
The work plan includes 126 bridge construction projects statewide, estimated to cost $295 million. Of these projects, 54 entail the replacement or rehabilitation of bridges, estimated to have a total value of $190 million.
The MDOT work plan followed the November 2013 passage of the $100 mil- lion Maine Transportation Reconstruction and Rehabilitation bond. The bond is matched by approximately $154 million in federal and other funds.
Of that bond, it was estimated that $27 million would be used to replace or rehabilitate bridges, with an expected
$30 million in matching federal funds, according to the 2013 Citizen’s Guide to the Referendum Election issued by Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap.
Report card
In 2012, the most recent year for which statistics are available, the Maine Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers released a statewide Infrastructure Report Card, which gave Maine’s bridges a C-, a slight improvement from the 2008 grade D+.
According to the Maine Sections ASCE, of the state’s 2,408 bridges, 365 were structurally deficient, or approximately 14.8 percent. A structural deficiency finding means that there is significant deterioration to the bridge deck, supports or other components. Structurally deficient bridges are typically considered safe for use, though a weight limit may be posted.
Additionally, 436 of Maine’s bridges were considered functionally obsolete, or approximately 18 percent. Functionally obsolete bridges are safe for traffic, but have “narrow lanes, inadequate clearances or poor alignments which do not meet current standards,” according to the Maine ASCA report.
In total, the report found that 28 percent of Maine’s bridges were deficient, compared to the national average of 24 percent. MDOT data used in the report indicated that 53 percent of bridges were more than 50 years old and 12 percent were at least 80 years old.
Two projects
The MDOT work plan also includes two major U.S. Route 1 preservation paving projects in Woolwich for 2015-16. One project will begin at the intersection with Route 127 and extend north for less than a mile and is estimated to cost $785,000.
The second project will begin at the Station 46 Bridge and extend north for approximately four and a half miles. The estimated cost of that project is $1,911,000.
The public meeting to discuss the rehabilitation of the Nequasset Bridge will take place at 6 p.m., Tuesday, at the Woolwich town hall, located at 13 Nequasset Road.
When, where
THE PUBLIC meeting to discuss the rehabilitation of the Nequasset Bridge will take place at 6 p.m., Tuesday, at the Woolwich town hall at 13 Nequasset Road.
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