MDOT prepares for Great Falls Bridges Project in Windham

By Ed Pierce

After a meeting in Windham in February about the upcoming Great Falls Bridges work and receiving public comments about the project, the Maine Department of Transportation is preparing to launch wearing surface replacement work for the bridge starting later this spring,

The Maine Department of Transportation will be reducing 
traffic to one lane crossing the Great Falls Bridges connecting
Windham and Gorham for wearing surface replacement 
work later this spring. PHOTO BY ED PIERCE

The project was first unveiled on MDOT’s list of road and bridge projects in its annual Three-Year Plan in January 2023.

According to MaineDOT Commissioner Bruce A. Van Note, the state’s Three-Year Plan is the primary way the department delivers on its mission to support economic opportunity and quality of life by responsibly providing residents with the safest and most reliable transportation system possible, given available resources.

Van Note said that the preliminary scope of work for this bridges project consists of replacing the wearing surfaces on the Great Falls Bridges. The east and west bridges span the Presumpscot River between North Gorham and Dundee Ponds.

The replacement of the wearing surfaces will preserve the longevity of the bridges’ existing deck and superstructure, Van Note said.

According to an MDOT study, the average daily traffic crossing the Great Falls Bridges between Windham and Gorham is 1,910 vehicles per day with about 8 percent of that traffic consisting of heavy trucks.

The reason MDOT cites for the project is to improve the condition of the existing structure while preserving the existing deck and superstructure longevity of the bridges. The project intends to minimize impacts to the traveling public and minimize impacts to adjacent properties and utilities during the project and implement a cost-effective solution to fixing the bridge’s wearing problem.

Maintenance of traffic during construction will be achieved either by using a closure and detour or by using staged construction.

The closure and detour alternatives would require all traffic to detour around the site on by using an alternate route.

Van Note said that the staged construction alternative would have one-half of the bridge under construction at a time, while a single lane of alternating one-way traffic would use the other half of the bridge.

“Transportation will always be a big job in Maine. Our state is almost the size of all five other New England states combined, yet our small population, about 1.41 million people, is about the same as that of New Hampshire, making us the least densely populated state east of the Mississippi River,” Van Note said. “Maine’s natural features and weather, while varied and beautiful, present additional challenges from an infrastructure perspective. To connect us all, Maine has an extensive, statewide, multimodal transportation system. That system includes 8,800 miles of state highways, 2,800 bridges and minor spans, six commercial airports, more than 1,300 miles of active railroad, 15 bus transit providers, passenger rail service, a state ferry service, three major seaports, and miles of active transportation corridors. Simply put, Maine has more transportation infrastructure per capita than most other states do.”

The Great Falls Bridges are located on Windham Center Road over the Presumpscot River and connect Windham to North Gorham.

Both bridges were constructed in 1970 and following recent MDOT inspections, they both show signs of cracking and rutting on deck and surfaces.

The bridge site is located near the Great Falls Dam, which was one of the first sources of hydroelectric power in the Lakes region of Maine. Use of hydroelectric power was implemented by early settler Zebulon Trickey, who constructed bridges and mills on both sides of the Presumpscot River in Great Falls.

When a fire swept through the Great Falls area in 1872 and destroyed the mills and a bridge built by Trickey, and settlement of the Great Falls site declined.

Estimated Funding for the Great Falls Bridges Wearing Replacement Project is $500,000. Work is expected to be finished by this summer. <

MDOT reveals details of upcoming Raymond highway projects

By Ed Pierce

More detailed descriptions of highway improvement funding for the Town of Raymond contained in the Maine Department of Transportation’s “Three Year Plan” have been announced.

The Maine Department of Transportation
provided $53,324 to the Town of Raymond
in 2022 for road maintenance and has
unveiled plans for several road improvement
projects in the town as part of its new
Three Year Plan for 2023, 2024 and 2025.
PHOTO BY ED PIERCE

The new plan covers the time frame between 2023 and 2025 and provides specific MDOT project information. It also shows a list of MDOT work in Raymond and capital projects that were accomplished in 2022 and local road assistance payments made to the town.

Many activities that are often managed on a larger scale, such as snow and ice removal and any road maintenance work performed by contract labor are not included.

For 2023 in Raymond, MDOT is planning on making capital improvements to the Frye Island Ferry Service between Raymond and Frye Island. It is part of MDOT’s General Multimodal Improvements Highway Corridor Priority Project. The cost is estimated at $311,000.

Another project will be the reconstruction of electrical systems for ferry boats as part of the Ferry Boats Rehabilitation Highway Corridor Project. The cost of that work is estimated at $150,000.

Also in 2023, MDOT plans to rebuild the mainland ramp, apron hinge, and island slip headwall for the Frye Island Ferry Service. The cost of the project is estimated at $175,000.

MDOT is also planning to install backplates with yellow reflective strips and replace supplemental signal heads along Route 302 in Raymond. That is intended to improve safety for drivers using Route 302. The cost of that work is estimated at $395,000.

For 2024 in Raymond, MDOT is planning on continuing to make improvements to the Frye Island Ferry Service between Raymond and Frye Island. It is part of MDOT’s General Multimodal Improvements Highway Corridor Priority Project. The cost is also estimated at $311,000.

For 2025 in Raymond, MDOT will continue making improvements to the Frye Island Ferry Service between Raymond and Frye Island. The cost is estimated at $389,000.

In local road assistance, MDOT reports that it provided $53,324 to the Town of Raymond in 2022 for road maintenance.

Completed MDOT projects in Raymond in 2022 included 1.80 tons of patch applied for bridge work; 46 miles of striping applied to highways; 2 miles of roadway shoulders; 20.50 miles of roadway shoulder sweeping; a highway drainage structure was repaired; 26 linear feet of brush was removed near highways; and 700 linear feet of backhoe ditching was performed.

Also in 2022, MDOT rebuilt 1,200 linear feet of highway shoulder in Raymond; applied 1,042 square feet of pavement legend; completed two underwater inspections; installed a new drainage structure; and spent 12 hours on traffic signal maintenance.

MDOT Commissioner Bruce A. Van Note said that the selection of projects for the state’s new Three Year Plan is driven by MDOT staff committees: the Highway Committee, the Bridge Committee, the Multimodal Committee, the Safety and Mobility Committee, and the Management Team of the Bureau of Maintenance and Operations.

“These committees are comprised of staff from relevant disciplines and specializations. They include engineers and technicians with hundreds of years of cumulative experience,” Van Note said. “The committees work throughout the year in conjunction with the Bureau of Planning to identify project candidates and prioritize them for potential inclusion in the Work Plan.”

He said selection methods for these committees vary according to asset type and transportation mode, but the underlying asset management principles, managing the overall transportation system, using current, reliable data and rational scoring systems, and building in flexibility for unanticipated needs and developments, are common across all areas.

“In the fall of each calendar year, the committees review the last two years of the current Work Plan and make any needed adjustments in cost, schedule, and project scope,” Van Note said. “Once those adjustments are made, new projects are typically added for the third year of the Work Plan. MDOT’s Results and Information Office, with ongoing guidance from senior management, coordinates the work of the asset committees, receives input from the Bureau of Planning’s public outreach efforts, and assembles a Work Plan.”

Van Note said about 44 percent of the planned projects statewide will be paid for through federal funding, which the department estimates to be around $1.75 billion for the state in this three-year span. State Highway Fund revenue sources are derived from state per-gallon fuel fees and motor vehicle fees. <