MEXICO — The Maine Department of Transportation will hold a public meeting at 6 p.m. Feb. 13 at the Town Office to discuss replacement of the Toll Bridge, Wayne Frankhauser of the MDOT Bridge Program said.

Frankhauser said the 1930 bridge is showing its age and the MDOT received funding for preliminary steps to replace or repair it.

“All of these truss bridges were built around the same time,” Frankhauser said. “Back then, vehicles were much lighter than they are now. Over time, the bridges start to show signs of rust and corrosion,” he said.

“Long story short, the bridge has reached the end of its useful life, and we’re starting to look into how to fix that. Whether that means repairing it or putting in a new bridge remains to be seen,” he said.

Representatives from the MDOT will attend the meeting to address concerns the public may have about the project, he said. “They’ll be trying to gather information and will be listening to any questions or complaints that the community has,” he said.

The MDOT normally inspects a bridge every two years, Frankhauser said, though inspections can be done on a yearly basis, depending on the age and condition.

“Right now, the project is at the engineering stage,” he said. “We look at all aspects of the project, such as whether the bridge will be repaired or replaced, how traffic would be handled for the project, designing and reaching out to the public. After we figure that out, we look into putting together a bid package.”

For more information, call project manager Leanne Timberlake at 624-3490.

mdaigle@sunjournal.com

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