RUMFORD — Plans to improve two downtown bridges in 2016 and resulting traffic detours were outlined at a public hearing Tuesday night by the Maine Department of Transportation.

Project Manager Andrew Lathe discussed plans for a bridge deck replacement for Upper Canal Bridge and a paint project for Morse Bridge, detouring traffic through downtown.

With just three people in attendance in Rumford Falls Auditorium for the 30-minute presentation, Lathe said the key points are the project will take three to four months, pedestrian traffic will be able to get to either side of Morse Bridge during the project and the intent is to get heavy truck traffic to go around the Island using Route 2.

Replacing the deck of the Upper Canal Bridge is estimated to cost $2.08 million and painting the Morse Bridge is estimated to cost $1.75 million. They were slated to be separate projects over two construction seasons, but Lathe said it was decided that it favored downtown businesses to have work done on both bridges in one construction period. The project is slated to begin in late April or early May 2016.

While the heavy truck traffic will be rerouted over Route 2, Lathe said a temporary road will be made from Route 108 to the town parking lot by the old Agway building by Hartford Street Bridge to Hartford Street for traffic to get to the Island.

Lathe said the light at the end of Congress Street will be made a flashing yellow because there will be no approaching traffic in either direction. Traffic at the end of Congress Street going right can go across the Morse Bridge, which will be one-way, single-lane-only heading out of town to reconnect to Route 2.

Eastbound traffic will be denied entry onto Morse Bridge, but will have to travel up Route 2, take the rotary, cross Chisholm Park Bridge to Portland Street. It will then bear right onto Congress Street.

“Our intent is to put a stop sign on Congress Street where there isn’t one now. This will make the intersection of Hartford and Congress a three-way intersection,” he said.

Eastbound traffic will stop at the stop sign, turn left, utilize Hartford Street Bridge and the bypass to head east on Route 108.

Fire Chief Bob Chase said, “This leaves us with three response routes. One is backward up Congress Street, which we do routinely anyway, which will be our best way out. The other one is all the way down Congress Street, across Morse Bridge and out Route 2 west. And the third will be your detour out to Route 108.”

Deputy Fire Chief Richard Coulombe asked, “What are your plans for the bypass after the project is done?”

Lathe said, “It’s the state’s position right now that we don’t own the property and we’re not looking to buy the property. We’re going to try to get temporary construction rights. Depending upon what the town wants to do, we’re only designing the right for a temporary paving surface. When we pick up our toys and leave, we will leave it in the condition that it was, and remove the paving surface itself and return it to the dirt parking lot that it is now,” he said.

“That’s not to say that if the town says, ‘Please keep the gravel there,” he said. “We might like to do something with it,’ that’s fine as far as I’m concerned. But I’m told that we can’t leave the paving surface in place because it’s really temporary and not designed to be a long-term wearing surface.”

Coulombe noted, “There’s been three times that the Canal Street Bridge has been closed due to an accident long term, and we’ve had no access down Route 108. We had to go through Mexico if there was an emergency.”

Inquiries regarding the project may be directed to the attention of Andrew Lathe, project manager, Maine Department of Transportation, Bridge Program, 16 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0016, or call 441-7362 or email [email protected].