MaineDOT's replacement of 100-year-old bridge in Waterville set to begin

Maine DOT website The Maine Department of Transportation is beginning on-site construction work to replace the Ticonic Bridge.

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By Alexis Wells

A $52.85 million project to replace the Ticonic Bridge is scheduled to start Monday, April 3, when day and night lane closures will begin as the Maine Department of Transportation works on the Route 201 structure that spans the Kennebec River and the Waterville-Winslow town line.

The project is being funded in part by a Better Utilizing Investment to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation for $25 million. When asked if the remainder of the cost would be the responsibility of Waterville and/or Winslow, Paul Merrill of the MaineDOT replied via text that "most of the funding is state and federal money."

The contractor is Pittsfield-based Cianbro, Maine's largest construction firm. The new structure will be a two-span bridge with a single concrete pier in the river. The bridge will be made of steel girders with a concrete bridge deck. Like the existing bridge, the new bridge will carry five lanes of traffic. The new structure will also feature widened shoulders and include sidewalks on both sides.

According to information provided by MaineDOT, starting in late August, the deteriorating bridge will be closed to westbound traffic. Vehicles will be detoured to Carter Memorial Bridge in Waterville so the upstream half of the bridge can be built. In September 2023, pedestrian traffic will be detoured to Two Cent Bridge at 114 Benton Ave. in Winslow.

The bridge will be closed from November 2024 until April 2025, when eastbound traffic and pedestrian traffic are scheduled to begin using the first new half of the bridge. At that time, westbound vehicle traffic will continue to be detoured to Carter Memorial Bridge. The new Ticonic Bridge will fully reopen to both eastbound and westbound traffic, along with pedestrian traffic, around September 2026, and all contract work will be complete by May 2027.

Portions of the Ticonic are more than 100 years old. In 1936 portions of the bridge were replaced after a flood washed away portions of the original steel truss. In 1970 the bridge was widened.