NORWAY – The bridge that eluded the town for several weeks was delivered Monday.

The 34,000-pound structure will replace one on Beal Street between Lynn and Danforth streets.

Town officials had expected it to be delivered in mid-August, but Town Manager David Holt explained that it had to be coated and the manufacturer has to ship it to another company to get that process done.

“So, they were kind of at the mercy of a second company,” Holt said. “We hadn’t been nervous about it. There is plenty of work to do in advance.”

Holt had told selectmen at a meeting in August that the weather was the biggest concern. There had been too much rain.

He said work in the Little Pennesseewassee stream could not be done until the water was at a certain level to abide by the Department of Environmental Protection regulations.

To build the bridge the town had to secure a permit from the DEP and the Army Corps of Engineers.

Beal Street, between Lynn and Danforth streets, will have to be closed as the project begins on the bridge. Holt said he hoped work could start this week on the abutments and other areas requiring work in the stream.

He said town officials would make decisions on the work schedule as the process evolves.

“There is no need to close the road to traffic now,” Holt said. “We might not have to close the road until next year. I’m not saying that we will. We’re going to get together with the contractor, K&K.

“We don’t want to inconvenience the people on Beal Street any more than we have to,” he said.

K & K has the contract to do the road repairs and improvements on Beal Street.

Holt said the type of bridge set for Beal Street costs about $50,000 and has been used for projects on Greenleaf Avenue, Horne Street and Lynn street.

“We like them because they are solid, pretty inexpensive and quite importantly, they go quickly,” Holt said. “A month might seem like a tong time, but many times a bridge project like that takes a long time.”

He said some work on the headwalls needs to be done and that when finished the bridge would be about 15 feet wider to accommodate a sidewalk and bike lanes.

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