MADAWASKA - The Maine Department of Transportation and the New Brunswick Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (NBDTI), in coordination with the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) and the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA), are planning to open the new Madawaska-Edmundston bridge to traffic on Thursday, June 6th. The new bridge will initially be restricted to vehicles that weigh no more than five tons while construction activities continue on the bridge and Canadian Port of Entry.

The ongoing construction will also involve the permanent closure of the old bridge to vehicle traffic on Monday, June 3rd. This means that both Madawaska bridges are scheduled to be closed to vehicle traffic from June 3rd until June 6th. The next closest border crossings are in Fort Kent (approximately 19 miles to the west) and Van Buren (approximately 24 miles to the east). The old bridge will remain open to pedestrians between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. EST and 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. EST and until the new bridge is open.

As is the case with all outdoor construction, this schedule may change because of the weather.

The new bridge has been built on a new alignment, crossing the St. John River approximately 1,400 feet upstream from the old bridge on the U.S. side and tying into the existing New Brunswick port facility on the Canadian side. The new bridge features wider travel lanes and added shoulders on both sides. There is a raised sidewalk on the downstream side of the new bridge. The new bridge is designed to last 100 years. On-site bridge construction started in 2021. All work associated with the bridge project is scheduled to be completed in 2025.

The bridge construction project is a collaborative effort involving both MaineDOT and NBDTI. The contractor on the project is Reed & Reed, Inc. of Woolwich. The construction contract is approximately $86.5 million. The total project cost is approximately $97.5 million. In 2019, this project received a $36-million Infrastructure for Rebuilding American (INFRA) grant from the U.S. Federal Highway Administration. The remaining costs are being shared by MaineDOT and NBDTI.

During bridge construction, the GSA has been constructing a new land port of entry on the U.S. side of the international border. That project is nearing completion. MaineDOT, NBDTI, GSA, CBSA, and others are planning an event later this year to celebrate these projects.