Traffic slows Monday while crossing the Ticonic Bridge, between Waterville and Winslow. Beginning on Monday, Aug. 7, the bridge is to close to all vehicles and pedestrians for six days so construction work can progress. A $52.8 million project is underway to replace the aging bridge. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel
Motorists and pedestrians in the second week of August will not be able to cross the Ticonic Bridge between Waterville and Winslow for six days because it will be closed for construction work requiring access to the entire structure, according to officials.
The Maine Department of Transportation is replacing the bridge, which spans the Kennebec River on U.S. Route 201, at a cost of $52.8 million. The project is scheduled for completion in May 2027, according to MDOT officials.
The bridge will close beginning at 6 a.m. Monday, Aug. 7, and is scheduled to reopen at 6 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 12, according to a statement from Cianbro Corp., the Pittsfield-based company doing the work. Message boards will be erected to alert people of the bridge closure.
Motorists will be detoured south to the Carter Memorial Bridge and pedestrians can use the Two Cent Bridge at Head of Falls to cross the river.
The Ticonic Bridge, parts of which are more than 100 years old, will be replaced to include a two-span steel girder with a concrete deck structure, according to Cianbro. A single concrete pier will be built in the river to support it.
Workers from Pittsfield-based Cianbro Corp. make preparations Monday to the center portion of the four-lane Ticonic Bridge, as traffic slows while crossing the bridge into Waterville from Winslow. Beginning on Monday, Aug. 7, the bridge is to close to all vehicles and pedestrians for six days so construction work can progress. A $52.8 million project is underway to replace the aging bridge. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel
“The new bridge will carry five lanes of traffic similar to the existing bridge, feature widened shoulders for bicyclists, and include sidewalks on both sides of the bridge,” Cianbro wrote in its announcement to the news media.
Plans call for building half the bridge at a time, and during construction, it will be necessary to limit the number of lanes on the bridge to provide space needed by Cianbro workers to demolish the existing bridge and build its replacement.
As construction progresses, two lanes of eastbound traffic will be maintained across the bridge, with westbound traffic detoured south to the Carter Memorial Bridge.
“During the first half of construction, pedestrians will be detoured to the nearby Two Cent Bridge pedestrian crossing,” according to the Cianbro announcement. “The bridge will be closed to all traffic and pedestrians for up to 25 weeks during construction to support the safe and efficient completion of critical construction activities.”
For the past several weeks, the bridge has been closed to vehicle traffic from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. about four days a week.
Traffic slows Monday after crossing the Ticonic Bridge from Winslow into downtown Waterville. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel
Waterville City Engineer Andy McPherson said Monday that work is continuing on relocating utility lines before major construction can begin on the bridge. He said he thinks things have gone smoothly fo far for motorists.
“I haven’t heard any complaints from people,” McPherson said. “As far as I know, everything’s going well with Cianbro. It’s a difficult job replacement of fiber-optic lines through the middle of the bridge, so Cianbro is at the mercy of somebody else now.”
McPherson said members of the public can get access to updates on the project, including bridge closures, on Waterville’s website —waterville-me.gov.
It is unclear when further full bridge closures will occur after the closure in early August.
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