Woolwich firm awarded $86.5M contract for Madawaska bridge replacement

Courtesy / MDOT The Madawaska-Edmundston International Bridge, which is a century old and due to be replaced, carries personal and commercial traffic between Maine and Canada.

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By Renee Cordes

A Woolwich-based company nearly as old as the 100-year-old bridge linking Madawaska with Edmundston, New Brunswick, has been awarded an $86.5 million contract to replace the aging structure.

The Maine Department of Transportation announced Reed & Reed Inc. as the winning bidder Thursday on a project with a total price tag of $97.5 million, or around $10.9 million higher than previous estimates.

Department spokesman Paul Merrill told Mainebiz that the total cost includes construction as well as design and other preliminary work, and that Reed & Reed will be paid $86.5 million.

In Thursday's announcement, the department said said the Madawaska-Edmundston International Bridge Project will be partially funded via a $36 million federal grant awarded in 2019 by the U.S. Federal Highway Administration, with the Maine DOT and the New Brunswick Department of Transportation and Infrastructure covering the rest.

"The year-long challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have laid bare the importance of the connections between Maine and Canada," said Maine Department of Transportation Commissioner Bruce Van Note.

He added, "We are eager to move forward with this project to greatly improve one of these vital connection points. This new bridge will improve safety and support economic activities on both sides of the international border."

Jill Green, his counterpart in New Brunswick, described the undertaking as an important link bringing communities and countries together, saying, "This project will contribute to our priority of energizing the private sector by facilitating the movement of people and goods. This will allow our businesses to remain competitive while fostering economic growth in the region."

Maine DOT advertised the contract for bids in late December and opened bids in February.

It noted that although three unnamed contractors — two in Maine and one in New Brunswick — had been pre-qualified to bid, only the Maine companies did so. It also said that Reed & Reed was the low bidder of the bunch.

The move came the same day as the MaineDOT posted its 2021-24 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program online for public comment.

Van Note told Mainebiz in a recent "On the Record" interview that the Madawaska bridge replacement project was among those he is most excited about in terms of its importance to international trade and the Twin Rivers Paper Co. mills in the border town.

Project specs

Reed & Reed, ranked as Maine's sixth-largest ESOP in a recent Mainebiz List with 225 employee-owners, has its work cut out for it with the Madawaska project, whose specs were laid out in Thursday's announcement.

Maine DOT said that the bridge deck and superstructure are in poor condition and show signs of advanced deterioration, and that since October 2017, a five-ton weight limit on the structure has created a significant detour. It also said that the existing building and site of the land port of entry on the U.S. side are substandard and need to be replaced.

The new bridge will be constructed on a new alignment, crossing cross the St. John River at an approximately 45-degree angle and be located approximately 1,400 feet upstream from the existing bridge. After the revamp, the new structure will be nearly twice the length of the existing one.

Also planned are wider travel lanes and added shoulders on both sides. There will also be a raised sidewalk on the downstream side of the new bridge. The new bridge will be constructed using steel girders supported on concrete substructures and is designed to last 100 years.

Construction work is expected to begin later this month, with plans to open the new structure by the end of 2023. Demolition of the old bridge is scheduled to begin once traffic is moved onto the new bridge, with an estimated final project completion date of June 30, 2035.

Design and construction of the new land port of entry on the U.S. side is a separate project being administered by the U.S. General Services Administration.

Jackson Parker, CEO of Reed & Reed, said the company is pleased to be involved and will be looking to hire locally as much as possible.

He also referenced its roots as a builder of bridges, saying, "We have a long history of building bridges for Maine DOT, beginning in 1928 with a $1,676 contract to replace a bridge in Hermon. We are excited to begin work on this project."