BETHEL — A six-month project to rebuild the Route 2 bridge over the Androscoggin River is slated to begin March 14, according to the Maine Department of Transportation.
MDOT plans to have alternating one-way traffic, controlled by temporary signals, over the 400-foot bridge while work is underway, said Joel Kittredge of MDOT.
Kittredge said the contractor, Wyman & Simpson Inc. of Richmond, intends to work long days once sunlight isn’t an issue, likely 6 a.m. to about 5 p.m. The time will vary by length of day.
Because the work requires replacement of the bridge deck, there will be spacing and load restrictions for large trucks, Kittredge said. There is also a possibility that large trucks will be rerouted via Route 232 between Woodstock and Hanover, he said.
Stop lines will be approximately 200 feet from the bridge abutments, for a total closure length of about 800 feet, according to Kittredge.
“The westbound stop bar will be located between the North Road and the bridge,” he said. “There will be signs asking people to not block the entrance and also regarding blocking of business entrances.”
The bridge was built in 1968. In addition to the deck replacement, “scouring” of the riverbed at the support piers will require placement of concrete/cable mats around them for stabilization, according to MDOT.
The traffic volume on the road is 8,750 vehicles a day, Kittredge said, which is considered to be at the upper end of the range for which MDOT would allow alternating traffic controlled with signals.
MDOT officials have met with local municipal and utility officials, including the town of Bethel, SAD 44 and Central Maine Power, to try to make services run as smoothly as possible during the construction period, Town Manager Christine Landes said.
Landes said the travel lane across the bridge will be 11 feet, which is too narrow for the town’s plow truck, should there be snow in late March. The town is considering parking a grader and/or backhoe on the village side of the bridge, she said.
Some town officials have expressed concern about possible vehicle backups through the Parkway/Route 2 intersection, but MDOT officials have said during the planning process they are optimistic the traffic situation will be manageable.
The project was originally planned to take place last year, but was postponed.
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