It may not be happening in the near future, but sometime over the next few years, drivers in Kennebunk and Kennebunkport will have to contend with a possible logistical difficulty: The inevitable replacement of the Mat Lanigan Bridge, which connects Lower Village in Kennebunk to Kennebunkport’s Dock Square.
With few details yet to emerge at this early stage, the Maine Department of Public Transportation will nevertheless hold a public hearing on the issue on Tuesday, July 15 at 6 p.m. at Kennebunk High School.
“We’ll be seeking the residents’ input on this proposal, as we always do with these types of projects,” said MDOT Public Information Officer Ted Talbot.
“We’re a few years away,” he added. “We’re still doing surveys at this point.”
Those surveys are being conducted to determine how, and where, the bridge will be built. Talbot estimates that MDOT will entertain bids for the project sometime in 2016.
The reasoning for the replacement is simple: The current bridge is aging, its safety slowly eroding with each passing year.
“The structural integrity gets to a point where you’d have to rehabilitate it every year,” said Talbot, which isn’t feasible economically or logistically. While he isn’t sure how long the current bridge has been in place, he said that modern bridges of that type typically have a life expectancy of 75-100 years.
Kennebunk Town Manager Barry Tibbetts said that, due to the likely complexity of such a project, it would be overseen by not only MDOT but representatives from the two communities, as well.
“On a bridge where there’s a lot of traffic and a lot of activity, they would appoint an advisory committee,” he said, likely comprised of five members from each community, as well as one representative from the Kennebunk-Kennebunkport-Arundel Chamber of Commerce.
Selectman David Spofford expressed anxiety about what a project of that scope would mean to traffic on the heavily traveled bridge.
“At the end of the day, it’s gonna happen,” said Spofford. “You’re gonna have to suck it up, because there’s no way of getting around it.”
— Staff Writer Jeff Lagasse can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 319 or [email protected].
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