WILTON — A preliminary public meeting on the future replacement of the Canal Street Bridge is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 15, at the Wilton Town Office.
Representatives from the Maine Department of Transportation are holding the meeting to hear from residents regarding their concerns or comments and to answer any questions about the project.
Wilton officials were elated last fall after receiving word that the MDOT had changed its plans to remove the Canal Street Bridge and instead planned to keep the one-lane bridge and replace it.
Replacing the bridge spanning Wilson Stream at the foot of Wilson Lake would have cost taxpayers about $100,000, Town Manager Rhonda Irish said previously.
Selectmen Paul Gooch and Tom Saviello, along with Irish, met with Chip Getchell from the MDOT bridge maintenance division early in 2009, seeking a way to keep the bridge. Removal of the bridge would have left a narrow entrance/exit behind the Bass building to the boat landing and parking area, unless the town replaced it.
Getchell agreed to a site inspection in April 2009. Selectmen then sent a letter requesting help with the bridge, which brought the bridge committee to Wilton to look over the concerns voiced by selectmen. They went back and decided to replace the bridge, she said.
The process of replacement includes public hearings, but the process was not expected to start until this year.
Anyone with an interest in the project is invited to attend the Wednesday meeting.
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