Overhead view of wick drain installation in September 2022. MaineDOT photo

After years of construction, the Station 46 bridge replacement on Route 1 in Woolwich near Taste of Maine Restaurant wraps up this week. The $34.3 million upgrades, including two new culverts and a raised 85-foot-long bridge, also sought to improve prospects for the marshy area’s future. 

Car crashes and hydroplaning have been frequent at the George Wright Road intersection, a southern access point to Route 1. According to Woolwich Town Manager Kim Dalton, this is partly due to the acute angle of the merging lane but primarily due to flooding and poor drainage. After the last bridge, built in 1930, received a fracture-critical rating from the Federal Highway Administration — indicating a high risk of collapse — officials started planning repairs and improvements, she said. 

Wick drain installation on U.S. Route 1 located south of Great Western Railway. MaineDOT photo

The Department of Transportation teamed up with the state wildlife agency and a local nonprofit, Kennebec Estuary Land Trust, to improve the roads’ safety and resilience.

After public hearings, officials decided to dead-end George Wright Road, direct traffic to Nequasset Road to access Route 1 and add a permanent stoplight. Moreover, higher culverts were installed to meet the state’s climate goals, accounting for 4 feet of potential sea level rise and reducing flooding and erosion risks while reconnecting Back River Creek Marsh to tidal flow.

“We found something that works,” said Ruth Indrick, KELT project director. “Everything changed once partners saw the space as a shared system. Despite different goals, we met the community’s and surrounding habitat’s needs.” 

The state used the feasibility study that KELT secured through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s National Coastal Resilience Fund to determine the needed culvert size and site designs, moving the bridge replacement along cheaper and quicker than planned. 

Projects like these have garnered support from environmentalists and transportation officials alike. As Indrick put it, they’re essential in more ways than one; the more parties involved, the more people become aware of how salt marsh restoration works and why it matters. 

The temporary roadway built alongside Route 1 will be removed later this year. In 2025, a permanent stoplight at the Nequasset intersection will be enforced, and in 2026, the public boat launch will be settled into its new site at the opposite side of the channel, the final piece of the project. 

A recent photo of the new Pleasant Cove Bridge awaiting traffic lines in August 2024. Devan Eaton photo

Enter: Pleasant Cove Bridge

Faculty from the Bates College geology department collected sediment samples in March 2019. Ruth Indrick photo

MaineDOT project manager Devan Eaton said that after receiving a $25 million FHWA transportation grant in 2019, Woolwich “got straight to work.” Reed & Reed was chosen to lead the construction efforts.

The temporary bridge was built in seven months, and traffic was redirected in September 2022, remaining until July 31, 2024. New pavement was laid on Aug. 12, and once the traffic lines are sprayed this weekend, the road will be complete, making it the state’s first four-span, steel-girder, concrete bridge. 

“The crew had until 2026 to wrap things up,” said Jason Shaw, vice chairperson of the Woolwich Select Board. “In this line of work, it’s rare to finish ahead of schedule, and they did. Sure, the road has been bumpy, but from here on out, the public will be much safer, and that’s all that matters.” 

Shaw pointed out that after the consecutive January storms, Route 1 was closed due to flooding, sending 19,000 motorists on a lengthy detour. He said a similar inconvenience won’t happen again with the improved infrastructure.

One step before another

Since the DOT occupied the right of way with a temporary bridge, the replacement had to be done before KELT could proceed in its efforts to improve the health of the marsh off Route 1.

Indrick learned about the opportunity from a contact at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, who saw its potential to fulfill regional fish passage and marsh restoration goals, making it an appealing option for grant funding. After connecting with project partners, she said she felt immediate acceptance. 

As part of the 2019 vegetation survey, water, sediment, and air quality samples were taken. Ruth Indrick photo

“We’ve been around to help monitor the situation,” said Indrick, noting the town’s call to dead-end George Wright Road led to increased traffic, qualifying the Nequasset intersection for a stoplight per FHWA guidelines. “The choices made, until now, have been informed by the feasibility study and therefore set the stage for our work.” 

In 2019, contract engineers placed water level sensors throughout the marsh to understand how water moves through the system and predict sea level rise. The hydrologic/hydraulic model determined the culvert size needed to reintroduce tidal flow and revealed that George Wright Road was the pinch point, further supporting its closure.

As the bridge replacement project ends, a few things must happen before KELT can move forward. The Bath main water line, previously atop of the George Wright culvert, must be buried under the new tidal channel, and permits to move the public boat launch must be processed. 

One of Professor Beverly Johnson’s lab students monitors bird populations in the Back River Creek Marsh. Ruth Indrick photo

‘Nature heals itself’

Indrick said she often gets asked about the signs of an unhealthy marsh.

In this case, the existing roads created a waterlogged habitat; the culverts restricted saltwater and sediment flow. These factors impacted the marsh upstream, which had become a monoculture of narrow-leaf cattail (a non-native plant) and invasive species, like phragmites. 

“It’s true,” Indrick said. “Every marsh faces different challenges, but they all require certain conditions to thrive. A good rule of thumb is that if you see diverse vegetation, you can assume the marsh is doing well, even without taking an air sample.” 

That said, many samples were taken. KELT collaborated with Professor Beverly Johnson and her students from the Bates College geology department to monitor water levels, salinity, sediment and carbon emissions. A plastic box was placed over the marsh to capture the emitted gases. In the lab, they found the methane levels were so high that the air could be ignited. 

“When a marsh is healthy, it traps carbon,” Indrick said. “When it’s not, it emits a lot of methane. The good news is, there are enough native seeds stored in the water and sediment that marsh plants will grow back when the tidal flow is restored.” 

In layman’s terms, the marsh can heal itself with the right hydrology and sediment conditions. 

Furthermore, the velocities beneath George Wright Road were too high for fish to swim upstream. As an essential habitat for sturgeon and stripers, reopening tidal flow into Pleasant Cove will also benefit sea-run populations, Indrick claims. 

“We will continue to document shifts after the restoration,” said Indrick, pointing out that many partners had collaborated before on the Nequasset Fish Ladder project in Woolwich to bolster local alewife populations. “The willingness to achieve solutions for the greater good makes advancements like these possible.”