The posting took effect at 8 a.m. today. Trucks weighing more than 25 tons are being detoured over the Route 196 Coastal Connector to Route 1 in Brunswick.
John Buxton, the bridge maintenance engineer for MDOT, told members of the media that a June bridge inspection resulted in bridge engineers discovering some advanced deterioration. He decided to mobilize some of his senior structural engineers to evaluate the situation. They again inspected the bridge a couple weeks ago and found more deterioration than expected. As a result, they posted the bridge to 25 tons to keep the public safe, he said.
“A 25 ton limit really is a friendly posting if ever there was one,” Buxton said. “It won’t allow your big semi tractor trailers, forest product vehicles and vehicles of that type.”
Three-axle gravel haulers and similar weighted trucks will be restricted, but the single-axle and six yard gravel trucks should be under the weight limit, he said. School buses and emergency vehicles can still use the bridge as can most fire trucks.
“My goal right now is to maintain that 25 ton posting as long as practical,” Buxton said.
The 85-year-old bridge has lived a good life and seen its fair share of abuse from sand and salt and environment, Buxton said. He noted the DOT maintains the bridge and washes it every year, trying to remove corrosive elements that immediately start accumulating again.
While there has been some concern over the safety of the bridge when stopped in traffic on the bridge in light of the weight limit, Buxton said there is no danger to commuters utilizing the bridge.
Ted Talbot, spokesman for the DOT, said the Frank J. Wood Bridge has an average daily traffic count of 19,256 of which approximately 5 percent is heavy commercial trucks.
“If we did everything we thought needed to be done we could spend upwards of $800,000,” Buxton said, in order to maintain the 25 ton restriction. “I’m not saying that we’ll have to do all that. We have to evaluate it.”
Buxton hopes to get some immediate repairs done in the fall and estimates he will spend up to $100,000 to get those done. Right now they plan to over-plate a few of the floor beams, clean off part of the truss and apply an oil used in preservation.
Most of that work will take place under the bridge over the course of a number of weeks, which will involve occasional road closures. It is work that can’t be done at night. The greatest portion of work might be building access to get to the area requiring repair.
dmoore@timesrecord.com
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