Bids due next week on controversial Brunswick-Topsham bridge project

Photo / Maine Department of Transportation The Maine Department of Transportation is embarking on a plan to replace the 91-year-old Frank J. Wood Bridge connecting Topsham and Brunswick.

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By Renee Cordes

Maine transportation officials are seeking bids on a midcoast bridge construction project as historic preservation groups continue to fight efforts to demolish the existing structure.

Project bids are due to the Maine Department of Transportation by March 8 to build a bridge connecting Topsham and Brunswick over the Androscoggin River to replace the 91-year-old Frank J. Wood Bridge.

"Maine DOT remains committed to providing a safe, reliable and cost-effective bridge solution for Brunswick and Topsham and all the travelers of Maine," Damian Veilleux, a spokesman for the agency, told Mainebiz. "Experienced officials responsible for public infrastructure and the communities have determined that the proposed new bridge is that solution."

Plans to tear down and replace the old structure have been delayed for years by historic preservation groups, who filed a new federal lawsuit on Feb. 24 seeking to stop the replacement project amid concerns that the Maine DOT has "vastly underestimated" the cost of a new bridge.

"We [the plaintiffs] believe the bridge should be rehabilitated, as the most economical, environmentally, and socially, most feasible option," said John Graham, president of the Friends of the Frank J. Wood Bridge, one of the four groups that brought the suit.

The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine, seeks an injunction against the Maine Department of Transportation from accepting any bids.

"We are confident that we will win this round, once the court recognizes that the initial estimate of $13 million was not based in reality, and the real cost of replacement is well north of the [$42 million] the MDOT now estimates," Graham told Mainebiz.

Veilleux said the previously published $42 million updated estimate includes all costs for engineering and design work, environmental evaluation, construction and construction oversight and other aspects.

"The old bridge is in poor condition and continues to deteriorate," Veilleux said. "It is already posted for no commercial vehicles and must be inspected frequently to assure public safety. It is time to move forward and deliver a great new bridge."