A temporary bridge built to keep Route 1 traffic moving during replacement of the Station 46 bridge in Woolwich will open following the Labor Day holiday. The $25 million project began last January; it’s expected to continue through January 2025 based on the current construction schedule, according to Maine Department of Transportation spokesman Paul Merrill.

Another $9.23 million in highway improvements are planned on the north side of the new bridge. Reed & Reed, Inc. of Woolwich is the project’s general contractor. Merrill responded by email Aug. 30 to questions on the project, the largest of its kind since the replacement of the Route 1 viaduct in Bath, also built by Reed & Reed, Inc.

Merrill explained, what motorists see that’s rapidly nearing completion is a temporary roadway to reroute highway traffic during construction of the new Station 46 bridge. “The new bridge and reconstructed roadway will be built on the same alignment as the existing bridge/roadway,” wrote Merrill. He added, MDOT’s Devan Eaton is project manager.

The temporary bridge is 32 feet wide curb-to-curb to support two, 11-foot lanes of traffic. It has two, five-foot wide shoulders to accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians.

The new Station 46 bridge will be 40 feet wide curb-to-curb. It will have 12-foot wide lanes and eight-foot shoulders to serve bicyclists and pedestrians. Merrill told Wiscasset Newspaper, the new bridge won’t look identical to the current one, but will be pretty close in design. A center turning lane on the bridge’s southern end is planned to facilitate turning traffic into Taste of Maine Restaurant’s parking lot.

The temporary bridge will mean Route 1 motorists won’t have to be diverted to secondary roads and Route 127 during construction. In the weeks ahead, work will start on the removal of the current bridge, making way for construction of a new permanent structure.

The new Station 46 bridge will be built on the same footprint as the existing one. “The permanent alignment of Route 1 is not changing; traffic will be moved back onto it once the new bridge is finished,” stated Merrill.

A second Route 1 bridge will be built just past the George Wright Road intersection, replacing two culverts. “This structure will be a single span 85–footbridge (with) a concrete deck on concrete beams, on concrete abutments,” according to Damian J. Veilleux, also an MDOT spokesperson. It will be named Pleasant Cove Bridge and construction will begin in 2023 and be completed in 2024.

The southern end of George Wright Road will remain closed throughout construction. “It will be reopened once traffic is moved back onto the reconstructed roadway,” wrote Merrill. “The traffic signal at Route 1 and Nequasset Road is temporary, and will only be in place while the southern end of George Wright Road is closed.”

Other Route 1 improvements north of the Station 46 bridge include raising the grade by five feet at the low point of the roadway and reconstructing the intersection of George Wright Road.

The two projects are being funded through a combination of state and federal money: $25 million from a Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant through the Federal Highway Administration, and $5.77 million from standard federal funding. The remaining $3.54 million is being funding by the state, Merrill added.

Woolwich Road Commissioner Jack Shaw believes the project is going very well. “Reed & Reed, the contractor who is based right here in town, is doing an outstanding job. If they’ve encountered any delays, I’m quite sure they’ll make them up,” he told Wiscasset Newspaper Aug. 31. Shaw added it was good to see the temporary bridge was nearly finished. “They told us right along they’d have it done and open for traffic right after Labor Day and it looks like they will.”