RUMFORD — Replacement of the Rumford-Mexico Red Bridge that carries Route 2 over the Swift River will get underway in August, Town Manager Stacy Carter told selectmen recently.

“They will put a temporary bridge in to be placed to the right of the current bridge (traveling from Rumford to Mexico),” he said. “Once the temporary bridge is in, then they replace the existing bridge.”

The project is expected to take two years and cost $8.85 million.

The board authorized Carter to sign an agreement with the Maine Department of Transportation to use the town’s Three Fields for erecting the temporary bridge. The state will reimburse the town $1,000 for using the space.

Once the bridge is completed, the state will restore the cement steps that lead to the field, put in a handicapped ramp and redo the dugouts.

“There will actually be improvements to the area once the project is complete,” he said.

“We’re going to lose use of one of the fields,” he said, but sports activities will not be affected this year.

In June 2020, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, chairwoman of the Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, announced MDOT was awarded $38.1 million for the replacement and rehabilitation of seven bridges, including the Red Bridge.

As part of that announcement, MDOT Commissioner Bruce Van Note said, “These funds are necessary to replace seven of Maine’s nearly 3,000 bridges. Replacing these bridges will help to improve the economic viability of some Maine’s more rural areas, ensuring reliable movement of goods across our state.”

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