BRUNSWICK, Maine — For longer than most local people have been alive, the steel arches–the structural trusses--of the Frank J. Wood bridge have been part of the local landscape.
The bridge carries close to 20,000 cars and trucks per day. On memorial Days it carries the band and veterans, and is where the flower wreath is tossed into the Androscoggin River, as the bugle plays taps.
Those are all reasons why a small group in Brunswick and Topsham is trying to fight the state and federal governments, and save their hometown bridge.
The 87-year old Frank J. Wood bridge is a key connection between the two towns, and the Maine DOT says it needs to be replaced.
The state is proposing to build a new, $13 million bridge just upstream and tear the old one down.
But the Friends of the Frank J. Wood bridge say the old bridge can and should be saved.
So they filed suit this week in federal court against the DOT and the Federal Highway Administration, claiming the agencies are violating federal laws that protects historic structures.
“So this bridge is, it is the image of Topsham and Brunswick, its on the phone book, on the web page,” says John Graham, president of the Friends group. “You look at the image of this bridge and the two mills surrounding it, it defines Topsham and Brunswick.”
Maine DOT spokesman Paul Merrill says the agency is aware of the historical aspect of the bridge, but that it is worn out.
The structure under the road way is deteriorated, DOT inspectors have said, and the bridge has a posted weight limit of 25 tons, which won’t allow heavier trucks. The DOT says the bridge is worn out and needs to go.
“The assessment our engineers made is the bridge should be replaced that’s the best option as far as safety and cost efficiency,” says Merrill.
Graham says the DOT’s assessments and cost estimates are incorrect, and that the Friends’ own engineering studies show the bridge to be fundamentally sound, although they say the bridge deck needs to be replaced. An MDOT inspector was checking parts of the bridge on Thursday, and one lane of the bridge will be shut down one day next week for a more detailed inspection of the structure.
The MDOT and FHWA have sixty days to respond to the lawsuit. The National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Historic Bridge Foundation joined the Friends of the bridge in that lawsuit.
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