CANTON – The days are definitely numbered for the Gilbertville Bridge.

The 70-year-old steel-trussed, two-span bridge crossing the Androscoggin River closed permanently earlier this month when the new longer and wider bridge that was built next to it opened to traffic.

Workers from Reed and Reed of Woolwich removed tons of concrete that made up the deck of the venerable bridge last week. This week, the concrete is being cut into chunks and hauled away.

Within the next week or so the bridge itself will begin to be dismantled, Maine Department of Transportation project engineer Catherine Mettey said. First, huge platforms must be built on the river. Then, one span will be placed on one platform, the other span on the second platform. Then the snipping by giant “scissors” will begin.

The $4.4 million project is expected to be completed by Sept. 21.

The Gilbertville Bridge was built by the PGH-Des Moines Steel Co. of Pittsburgh in 1934. The company built many of the steel-trussed bridges still dotting the western Maine landscape. A steel marker noting that fact is still attached to the bridge.

Mettey hasn’t yet heard whether the local historical society wants it.

The bridge was named for Charles and Zimeri Gilbert, brothers who owned sawmills in that section of town in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.