CANTON – Last month’s flood slowed down work a bit on a new bridge in the Gilbertville section of Canton. But the engineer in charge of the $4.5 million project expects it to be completed on time by the end of August.
High waters caused by the Dec. 18 flood stopped work for about a week and a half, said Maine Department of Transportation engineer for the project, Catherine Mettey. One of the cranes had to be repositioned when the Androscoggin River’s water came up to the track of the huge machine.
Some damage resulted, she said, although she didn’t have a figure. That figure is being submitted to the Federal Emergency Management Agency as part of the agency’s assessment of damage resulting from the flood.
She said the project is staying within the budget, as well.
Work began on the replacement of the nearly 70-year-old steel trussed bridge in May. By the end of July, the 450-foot-long bridge had been moved to a support so it could serve as a temporary bridge while the new one was being built.
Mettey said one of the new abutments is about half done, and the second will soon be started. The three piers are complete.
The next phase of the project will be to erect the steel for the superstructure that supports the bridge’s deck, said Mettey.
About a dozen people from Reed and Reed Inc. of Woolwich work each day on the bridge. Mettey oversees the project for the state, administers the project, and assures that the work is being done correctly.
The new bridge will be about 50 feet longer than the old one, and wide enough to allow two vehicle lanes and an 8-foot-wide sidewalk for use by pedestrians and snowmobilers.
The entrance onto the bridge has been widened and the nearby railroad tracks have been raised about 3 feet to allow better sight distance.
Once the new bridge is complete, Reed and Reed will get most of the steel from the old bridge. Some of the bridge’s steel will also be given to the local snowmobile club for its use in building bridges. The rest will likely be melted down.
The Gilbertville Bridge replaced another that was washed away during the flood of 1936. It was named for brothers Charles and Zimeri Gilbert, who owned sawmills in that section of Canton during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
eadams@sunjournal.com
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