WILTON — Replacement of the Canal Street bridge will not begin until late summer or early fall, or early next spring, Town Manager Rhonda Irish told selectmen on Tuesday.

The Maine Department of Transportation is still in contract negotiations with the lowest bidder. More information as to the contractor and start date will be released when the town receives word on it, she said Wednesday.

The state sought bids in May. After the contract is awarded, the project will enter the design phase, but whether the work will begin this year or be held until next spring is not known, she told the board.

Once the scope of the work needed to replace the abutments was realized, the planning took longer to do. From the state’s perspective it wasn’t quite as simple as a replacement, she said.

Planning for the removal and securing of the town’s sewer line that runs along the side of the bridge during the abutment work and bridge replacement was something not known at the first of the year.

The town has opted to do the work on the sewer line itself rather than have the contractor do it.  The expected cost for the sewer department and town is between $20,000 and $30,000, she said.

There’s also a question about getting the bridge paved before winter if the work doesn’t start until fall. They may wait until spring rather than close the bridge over the winter, she said.

With a temporary, uninsulated sewer line for the contractor to contend with, it might be better to wait till spring, she added.

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