TOPSHAM, Maine — Northbound traffic over the Frank J. Wood Bridge between Brunswick and Topsham will again be detoured through Thursday afternoon as the Maine Department of Transportation inspects the aging bridge.
The bridge, which carries Route 201 over the Androscoggin Rover, has been deemed "fracture critical" and in poor condition, and is now inspected every six months rather than every 24 months, the MDOT said.
Since November 2021, the MDOT has prohibited all commercial vehicles, including fire trucks and school buses, from using it.
Northbound traffic from Brunswick to Topsham will be detoured to the Topsham Bypass and Route 196 through Thursday afternoon.
The MDOT plans to build a replacement bridge following a contentious battle with historic preservation groups that sued the state in an effort to restore the original bridge.
A federal judge ordered the Federal Highway Administration to further analyze the cost difference between replacing and restoring the bridge, and in July, that study determined that the cost of rehabilitating the bridge would be "much greater" than replacing it.
That replacement cost was estimated in July to be $33.5 million, far exceeding the 2019 cost estimate of $13 million.
MDOT spokesman Paul Merrill said Tuesday that the department still intends to put the construction contract for a replacement bridge out to bid before the end of the year, and advertise for bids for at least four weeks before selecting a qualified bidder that has submitted the lowest bid. The construction timeline will then be largely up to the contractor, he said.