LEWISTON — Councilors on Tuesday called on the state to help repair the 85-year-old bridge connecting downtown with the Bates Mill complex.

“This has come up repeatedly,” City Administrator Ed Barrett said. “We have talked to the state again and again and not gotten any action. They just keep telling us not to worry about it, that it’s nothing major or significant. Hopefully, we can get some attention this time.”

The Wiseman Bridge was built in 1927 to carry traffic across Chestnut Street from Lewiston’s downtown to the Bates and Hill mills. A unique bridge in Lewiston, the traffic lanes are bounded by concrete arches and topped with concrete beams.

But that concrete has begun to show its age. The concrete arches and the road base have begun to erode, a process called concrete spalling. That has revealed rusting rebar under the concrete. Sidewalks on either side of the road need work, too.

“You can see sections where (the rebar has) actually fallen off,” Public Works Director Dave Jones said.

Councilors voted 6-0 to ask the Maine Department of Transportation to fix the bridge.

“They’ve done evaluations and they said the bridge is still structurally sound,” Jones said. “I think the concern the council has is that when you have minor deterioration like we are seeing, it leads to something more, sooner. It’s better to treat it now, before it gets worse.”

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