BRUNSWICK, Maine — The fight between the Maine Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Friends of the Frank J. Wood Bridge is advancing in the courts. According to Maine DOT spokesperson Paul Merrill, the parties involved are waiting for oral arguments to be scheduled within the next 30 days.
Maine DOT says the steel-truss construction bridge, which connects Topsham and Brunswick and was built in 1932, is in poor shape and they want to replace it with a new, nearly $20 million structure.
Friends of the Frank J. Wood Bridge have a Facebook page and are leading the fight to save the historic bridge.
They along with the National Trust and The Historic Bridge Foundation filed a lawsuit against the Maine DOT and the Federal Highway Administration forcing preservation rather than destruction. John Graham, spokesperson for Friends of the Frank J. Wood Bridge told the Portland Press Herald, "We feel strongly that we’re going to win this in the court and MDOT will be forced to rehab the bridge."
Merrill says on September 1 and September 2 the structure was inspected. The results will be available in several weeks.
"Our plan right now is to put the bridge replacement project out to bid in the first half of next year," Merrill said. "Construction generally begins several months after the contract is awarded."
Maine DOT says it will cost far less to replace the bridge than to fix it.
Below you will find their presentation at a March 28, 2018, public meeting.
The Frank J. Wood bridge currently has a 25-ton limit. This means five-axle trucks and other commercial vehicles have to follow a bypass detour of one mile.