BATH, Maine — Reed & Reed Construction of Woolwich began preparing materials Tuesday to begin a yearlong $14 million Maine Department of Transportation project replacing a viaduct in Bath that carries Route 1 over local streets and the Central Maine and Quebec Railway lines before connecting to the Sagadahoc Bridge over the Kennebec River.
The viaduct will remain open through Columbus Day in October, though lane closures may take place, during the first phase of construction. The viaduct is expected to close Oct. 11, 2016, with traffic to be rerouted through the city until May 25, 2017, according to a release from MDOT spokesman Ted Talbot.
Glenn Philbrook, MDOT resident engineer, said in the release that shifts in traffic largely will be confined to the southbound side of the Leeman Highway between High and Franklin streets, and access to downtown Bath and all local businesses will be maintained. Pedestrian crossings between Bath Iron Works and the downtown will be restricted to one location.
Excavation and drainage work is scheduled to begin in the area under High Street and progress through October toward the intersection with Washington Street under the Central Maine and Quebec Railway rail lines.
The majority of work is planned for the daytime, but once the viaduct is closed, contractors will work 24 hours per day, seven days per week, according to state transportation officials.
The 58-year-old viaduct, on which 18,000 vehicles travel each day, will close in October, when it is demolished and a new viaduct is complete.
The project begins two months after a Windham woman and her son were injured when her sport utility vehicle broke through the guardrail and drove off the viaduct, landing upside down in the bed of a truck on the street below.
State transportation officials said the Bath viaduct has been checked annually for the last several years, but the crash prompted MDOT officials to re-examine 30 other bridges with similar construction, WGME reported after the crash. MDOT officials told WGME that the guardrails were never crash tested and don’t meet today’s standards.
The new viaduct is expected to open near Memorial Day in 2017, with a life expectancy of 80 years or more, according to MDOT.