Courtesy / MDOT
A recent aerial photo shows the Interstate 295 bridge in Portland and the new bridge deck, under construction.
February 16, 2022
I-295 bridge replacement in Portland nears completion, sets date for the Big Slide
Courtesy / MDOT
Workers lift rebar on the deck of the new Interstate 295 bridge, under construction and scheduled to slide into place during April, replacing the current span in the background.
By William Hall
If you think parallel parking is difficult, try slipping a four-lane, 800-ton highway bridge into place.
That’s what the Maine Department of Transportation and Pittsfield-based Cianbro Corp. plan to do in Portland, and they've just announced when: April 22.
A stretch of Interstate 295 will shut down for the weekend, and a portion of Veranda Street will be closed from April 18-25.
Beginning Friday, the 22nd, crews will slowly maneuver a new 80-foot-long span for I-295 into place above the street, while painstakingly removing the old overpass. It was built in 1961 and an MDOT inspection five years ago found it structurally deficient.
The builders are using the tricky technique because the Interstate carries heavy volumes of traffic between Portland and points north. Bridge replacements typically cause detours and street closures for months or even years, which didn’t seem feasible for this critical crossroad.
Instead, Cianbro and its subcontractors have been fabricating the replacement bridge alongside the current one, and plan to make the switch in only 64 hours. It requires the use of a "self-propelled modular transporter," which is essentially a huge platform supported by many tires, according to the project's website.
The transporter will shift two pieces of the new bridge, one for the northbound lanes and one for the southbound, just a matter of yards. But there's an abutment to get over, and the transporter's top speed is roughly 3 mph, MDOT spokesman Damian Veilleux told Mainebiz.
The Big Slide will begin Friday, April 22, at 7 p.m., and is expected to be complete by Monday, April 25, at 11 a.m. The department announced the move last November, but an exact date wasn't set until recently.
Construction on the project started about a year ago, and will extend beyond the actual replacement to this November. Plans call for upgrades to Veranda Street and other improvements at the junction, which encompasses several other side streets and has experienced an increase in traffic accidents because of its confusing layout.
Cianbro’s contract is for $18.1 million. The overall cost, including engineering and inspection expenses, is $20.8 million.
There's no safe vantage point to observe the bridge replacement, MDOT has said. But the department has installed two cameras that will capture the action and will live-stream it on the website.
Editor's Note: This article has been revised to include additional information from the Maine Department of Transportation.
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