BRUNSWICK

After sharing their recommendations to replace the Frank J. Wood Bridge, Maine Department of Transportation officials listened on Wednesday to more than an hour of mixed comments from the public, ranging from delight to disgust over the proposed design and a plea by several residents to rehabilitate the 84-year-old structure.

Joel Kittredge, project manager for the MDOT Multimodal Program, said rehabilitating the “Green Bridge” would add a second sidewalk and cost $10 million. It would give the bridge another 30 years if not less before it would need replacement, he said.

It would maintain the existing alignment and reduce environmental and right-of-way impacts. However, rehabilitation would also take about 19 months, with five months of traffic use in the middle.

A new bridge would cost $12 million to $13 million, would increase safety and mobility and have a life span of 100 years. The preferred upstream alternative would be closer to the dam and fishway, where there are better hydraulics and ledge outcrops can be used to help keep the bridge structure up out of the water. The old bridge would remain during construction so traffic wouldn’t be impacted.

Kittredge said the new bridge would increase mobility with 5-foot shoulders and two 5-foot-wide sidewalks, while also offering street lamps and bump-outs 5-foot wide and a 10-foot-long viewing deck. The department can also make connections to parks and recreation areas on both ends of the bridge. It is open to working with the municipalities and public interest groups on increasing other aesthetic features.

Darlene Kritzman, the first to speak, said, “I drive over the bridge every day on my way to work and I don’t enjoy the current one because it’s all rusty.”

When she saw the design for the new proposed bridge, she said, “I just think it’s just absolutely gorgeous. I love the low profile. I love the way it brings more attention to the river instead of the bridge. I love this new bridge and can’t wait for it.”

Phinney White of Bridge Street in Topsham started his comments by holding up a large photo he shot Sunday of the bridge and said, “In many ways this is probably the best argument for trying to save the Frank Wood Bridge,” which drew a round of applause. “It’s not a type of image that they actually included in their slide show.”

White said the bridge is eligible to be on the National Register of Historic Places and is afforded the same protections, and requires the federal government to consider impact of projects on historic places under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966.

“I think that is reason alone to not have a discussion about replacing the bridge and lets have a discussion about maybe improving that length of time it takes to rehabilitate the bridge,” he said.

Doug Bennett of Topsham said he believes a new bridge would increase safety, but has worries about the design MDOT officials presented.

“It looks like a bridge that doesn’t so much connect two towns with downtowns that we want to be very pedestrian and cyclist friendly. It says this is a bridge that transports people rapidly through our towns and I worry very much that it will work very poorly against the pedestrian walkable character of two small but beautiful downtowns we have,” he said.

Scott Hanson of Topsham urged MDOT to look at rehabilitation without a second sidewalk, which might put the cost closer to $5 million or $6 million.

“If there’s any place in the state of Maine where a through truss bridge should be preserved, it’s this one,” he said. “You have National Register Historic Districts on both ends, you have iconic mill complexes on both ends and you have a bridge that appears on the cover of books as an iconic Maine image, so please consider this one as the one you’ll save and look again at what it would take to do that.”

Kittredge said the MDOT will sit down and address comments made at the meeting. The department will continue to work with the towns. He said people can contact him with their thoughts and concerns, as well as their local representatives, municipal officials and legislators.

The MDOT can make a new bridge work, he said.

dmoore@timesrecord.com