PARIS – Replacement of the Brett Hill Bridge begins June 16. The $340,000 Maine Department of Transportation project will include 250 feet of new pavement on either side of the bridge.

Brett Hill Road residents are going to have to use the upper entrance of the road, as it loops back onto Route 117, until the bridge reopens around the end of August, Town Manager Steve McAllister said.

Route 117 from Paris through Buckfield is also due for road reconstruction this summer, adding to the potential construction delays for motorists.

“It will be an inconvenience this year, but after this year the residents will be very happy” with the improvements, McAllister said. “It will be nice, and it will be worth a little bit of inconvenience.”

The town used to own and maintain the bridge until the state changed the rules two years ago, he said. Under the new rules, the state will maintain any bridge more than 25 feet long. The Brett Hill Bridge is 26 feet long.

“It just made it” so that the town was spared the expense of replacement, he said.

The bridge, which spans Stony Brook, was built in 1950 and has had many repairs over the years, McAllister said. MDOT inspects bridges every two years, and during the last inspection officials concluded that for safety’s sake, it was time to replace the bridge.

Six Brett Hill Road residents attended a Thursday informational meeting on the project. On hand to answer questions were MDOT engineer Wayne Frankhauser, MDOT project engineer Don Rice, and Tom Linindoll of T. Buck Construction, the contractor doing the work.

ggeraghty@sunjournal.com

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