CHESTERVILLE — A public hearing on replacing Dutch Gap Bridge over Little Norridgewock Stream will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Town Office, 409 Dutch Gap Road.

Representatives from the Maine Department of Transportation will provide information on the project, which is estimated to cost nearly $500,000.

The bridge was built in 1949 with two side-by-side 14-foot diameter galvanized steel plate pipes. They are separated by a three- or four-foot gap filled with soil.

An inspection in April 2016 showed moderate to heavy rust on both culverts, Joseph Stilwell, Maine Department of Transportation project manager and engineer, said.

“Little Norridgewock Stream drains into the Sandy River, which is an Atlantic salmon habitat,” Stilwell said. The bridge design may be altered and costs may be higher because of the salmon, he said.

At a public hearing last year, a state official said it would cost the federal government $480,000 to replace the bridge. 

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The bridge is 24 feet wide and daily traffic averages 905 vehicles. It’s 1.5 miles from the Town Office and Fire Station.

Chesterville resident and abutter Richard Whitehouse said last year that trucks loaded with gravel from several nearby pits cross the bridge daily.

Town Road Foreman Mike Cote said 35 to 40 loaded wood trucks use the bridge daily.

For more information, call 207-624-3336 or email joseph.r.stilwell@maine.gov.

pharnden@sunmediagroup.net

The Maine Department of Transportation will hold a public hearing at 6 p.m., Thursday, March 29 at the Chesterville Town Office, 409 Dutch Gap Road, regarding the replacement of the Dutch Gap Bridge. At a meeting on the project held last June, Joseph Stilwell of the Maine Department of Transportation shows a picture of the Dutch Gap Road bridge located about 1.5 miles from the Town Office and Fire Station. (File photo)


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