Screenshot / MDOT
The southbound lanes of the Veranda Street Bridge, carried below by a motorized rig, slowly enter the gap where the previous bridge stood in Portland.
Updated: April 25, 2022
In 60 hours, crews switch out a bridge on one of Maine's busiest highways
Courtesy / MDOT
A series of photos shows the 60-hour, round-the-clock process of installing a new bridge to carry Interstate 295 over Veranda Street in Portland. The highway was closed to traffic Friday evening and reopened early Monday.
Screenshot / MDOT
Screenshot / MDOT
Screenshot / MDOT
Screenshot / MDOT
Screenshot / MDOT
Screenshot / MDOT
Screenshot / MDOT
Screenshot / MDOT
Screenshot / MDOT
Screenshot / MDOT
Screenshot / MDOT
Screenshot / MDOT
By William Hall
Working round-the-clock from Friday evening to Monday morning, construction crews in Portland pulled off a feat that could have taken years — replacing an Interstate 295 bridge that’s one of the busiest stretches of road in the state.
At 7 p.m. Friday, the Maine Department of Transportation closed a portion of I-295 to traffic, and by 7:10 p.m. crews were jackhammering and beginning to disassemble the previous span, which was 61 years old and structurally deficient.
Workers from Pittsfield-based Cianbro Cos., Shaw Bros. Construction of Gorham and other contractors deployed in 90-person teams for 12-hour shifts.
On Saturday, workers gingerly slid two pre-fabricated halves of the bridge into the gap where the old one had stood. Foot by foot, the workers wheeled the structures on a "self-propelled modular transporter” — a huge, overhead platform driven by a motor with a top speed of 3 mph.
The bridge halves only had to travel a few dozen yards from where they had been constructed. But the maneuver wasn’t like parallel parking. Each chunk of the bridge is 80 feet long and 47 feet wide, and weighs 400 tons.
The chunk carrying I-295’s two southbound lanes was in place by late Saturday afternoon, and the northbound lanes followed that night. Crews continued work Sunday to grade approaches to the bridge. Paving was completed by 7 a.m. Monday, ahead of schedule and in time for the morning commute. The portion of Veranda Street under the bridge was scheduled to open by 2 p.m.
The tricky technique was necessary because this stretch of the Interstate carries heavy volumes of traffic between Portland and points north — more than 53,000 vehicles a day. Bridge replacements typically cause detours and street closures for months or even years, which wasn't feasible for this critical crossroad.
The $20.8 million construction project began in March 2021 in response to the bridge’s deteriorating condition and a confusing, sometimes dangerous traffic flow pattern around it. The highway remained open, however, until the actual replacement this weekend. Work will now include improvements to Veranda Street and several side streets and is expected to finish by November.
Courtesy / MDOT
An aerial photo shows the Veranda Street Bridge in Portland as the replacement span was being built just to the left of the existing one.
The closure of 1-295 inconvenienced some local travelers and at times backed up traffic into Falmouth. But the Big Slide became something of a big hit, with neighbors in Portland turning out in the streets to watch and others glued to a 24/7 livestream of the installation.
On Sunday, MDOT spokesman Paul Merrill told Mainebiz, “It seems that people heeded the warnings to stay home or avoid the area, and we’re grateful for that. Nearly all the people we’ve interacted with in the neighborhood have been understanding and appreciative.
"Our team at MaineDOT has been working closely with our partners at Cianbro, Shaw Brothers, HNTB and others to all work as one and pull in the same direction.”
Courtesy / MDOT
A view of the construction site, looking east, on Sunday after the new bridge had been installed late Saturday.
Courtesy / MDOT
A wide-angle view of the Veranda Street Bridge construction site, looking west, before the new span was installed.
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments