WATERVILLE/WINSLOW - The Maine Department of Transportation is beginning on-site construction work to replace the Ticonic Bridge, which carries Bridge Street (Routes 137 and 201) over the Kennebec River between Waterville and Winslow.

The current Ticonic Bridge's concrete arch dates to the early 20th century, when the bridge carried a trolley line. Other sections of the bridge were replaced in 1936 after a flood washed away the original steel truss. The bridge was further widened in 1970. The current bridge is more than 100 years old and has deteriorated to the point that the end of its useful life is near. Further attempts to repair or rehabilitate it will not restore the full integrity of the bridge to meet modern safety needs.

The new bridge will be constructed on the same alignment as the current one. The new structure will be a two-span bridge with a single concrete pier in the river. The bridge will be made of steel girders with a concrete bridge deck. Like the existing bridge, the new bridge will carry five lanes of traffic. The new structure will also feature widened shoulders and include sidewalks on both sides. Replacing the Ticonic Bridge with an improved structure that will provide long-term reliability will greatly enhance other infrastructure investments being made in Waterville by the city and Colby College.

On-site construction work is scheduled to begin on Monday, April 3rd. Drivers should expect daytime and nighttime lane closures. In late August 2023, the Ticonic Bridge will be closed to westbound vehicle traffic, and westbound vehicles will be detoured to Carter Memorial Bridge so that the upstream half of the bridge can be built. In September 2023, pedestrian traffic will be detoured to Two Cent Bridge. Ticonic Bridge is scheduled to be fully closed from November 2024 until April 2025, when eastbound traffic and pedestrian traffic are scheduled to begin using the first new half of the bridge. At that time, westbound vehicle traffic will continue to be detoured to Carter Memorial Bridge. The Ticonic Bridge will fully reopen to both eastbound and westbound traffic along with pedestrian traffic around September 2026, and all contract work will be complete by May 2027.

The contractor on this project is Cianbro of Pittsfield. The contract amount is $52.85 million. This project is the recipient of a 2020 Better Utilizing Investment to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation for $25 million.