BRUNSWICK

The Brunswick Town Council voted to table a resolution expressing the council’s support for the Maine Department of Transportation’s proposal to replace the Frank J. Wood Bridge on Monday night following public comments and possible new information on rehabilitating the current structure.

Town Manager John Eldridge outlined the process thus far, meeting with the MDOT on April 19, and again in Topsham and at Southern Maine Community College where options given the town included a new, upstream replacement bridge for $13 million or rehabilitating the current bridge for $10 million.

The MDOT claimed the new bridge would cause minimal traffic disruptions and have a life span of 100 years while providing an extra walkway and river overlooks.

Likewise, the department said any rehab work on the bridge would only extend its life perhaps another 30 years and require lengthy traffic disruptions and frequent, costly inspections of the 83-year-old structure.

Eldridge further suggested a bridge design committee be formed to provide aesthetic input for MDOT moving forward.

Vice Chairman Steve Walker asked Eldridge if the new bridge was the only option at this stage. Eldridge responded that it’s the MDOT’s recommended option and if the towns decide to rehab the bridge, in 30 years, the MDOT may tell them they have some expensive decisions to make.

“The MDOT’s analysis was pretty straightforward,” Eldridge said.

Topsham resident Phinney White has lived on both sides of the bridge throughout his life and believes the bridge should stay. According to White, the character of the bridge is the “center of town.”

“Go to Frontier (Cafe) — your beer tastes four times better when you’re drinking a beer and looking out at that steel truss bridge than a cement high- way overpass,” White said.

White claimed that through connections made on the Save the Frank J. Wood Bridge Facebook page, he has found that more and more historic bridges are being saved and rehabilitated in different states.

White claimed that rather than 30 years, these bridges were given a new lease for upward of 80 years.

White also said that cyclists who claim that the new bridge would be safer aren’t from the area. As a person who regularly crosses the bridge on a bike, he said the current design is safer because it’s “precarious.”

White said it creates the felling of a narrowed space, naturally slowing vehicular traffic — something he said if replaced would create a speedway where cyclists will be in greater danger.

George Gilmore of Brunswick spoke out in favor of replacing the bridge based on cost-benefit analysis. Gilmore not only called for a new bridge, but a roundabout as well in the intersection in Brunswick preceding the bridge.

Richard Fisco of Brunswick also wanted to see a new bridge, adding that he didn’t want to see any remnants of the old bridge when the project was complete.

Steve Stern of Brunswick holds degrees in civil and structural engineering from the University of Maine and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and owns property on both sides of the bridge.

“I’m getting old and older by the day and I like old things,” Stern said.

Aesthetics aside, Stern said he believes the MDOT numbers to be incorrect. Stern mentioned bridges such as the Golden Gate and the Brooklyn Bridge, as well as iron and steel structures still used in Europe today, as simple proof the bridge would last more than another 30 years.

Stern called losses of historic places around Brunswick and Maine in general as examples of “poor insight into the future.”

Stern asked the council to wait as new information is being compiled.

“Have you ever looked at the phone book — what’s the picture on the phone book,” Stern asked, referring to the bridge as an iconic link between two mill towns.

Stern said he will be having the engineering department from the University of Maine as well as engineers from out of state to evaluate the bridge. Before finishing, he reminded the council to get all the information before making a decision that could make them look bad.

Council Chairman Sarah Brayman motioned to table the resolution until June 6, providing the council more time to look at any possible new information.

More time

• BRUNSWICK TOWN COUNCIL Chairman Sarah Brayman motioned to table the bridge resolution until June 6, providing the council more time to look at any possible new information.