After a lengthy delay, a 26-foot steel girder bridge on William Knight Road over the Pleasant River is being replaced.
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| Bridge replacement work has started on Varney's Bridge on William Knight Road in Windham. The $2.2 million project will create a new new bridge with $1.5 million in funding from MaineDOT and the remainder on a bond authorized by Windham voters in 2023. The bridge is expected to be completed by Oct. 12. PHOTO BY MELISSA CARTER |
Size, complexity and increasing age were key factors in making the decision to replace the steel girder bridge. MaineDOT engineers reported that capacity issues and faster and heavier loads stressed this type of bridge past its original design parameters. Typically, steel girder bridges can be more expensive than other types of bridges because of the rising cost of materials and for construction and this type of bridge may not be suitable for very heavy loads and may not be able to support the weight of heavy vehicles.
Windham Town Engineer Mark Arienti said MaineDOT engineers found issues with the bridge’s concrete abutments and reduced the allowable load to three tons. That made it not possible for construction trucks, dump trucks, garbage trucks, and other large vehicles to cross the bridge because of the weight limitation.
“For example, when the town plows, it has to stop at the bridge, turn around, and then go the other way,” Arienti said.
Right now, there are concrete abutments that support the current bridge, which is a steel structure and scouring from the river has caused erosion where the concrete makes contact with the water. There has also been rusting on the steel supports which need to be replaced. The bridge has lasted quite a long time, but Arienti said it has aged because of erosion and corrosion of the concrete foundation and abutments and needed to be replaced.
In June 2021, Windham residents approved spending $25,000 for a study at the Annual Town Meeting about how to best move forward to replace the aging structure. That study was completed in the summer of 2022, and the results were forwarded to the MaineDOT.
Using the MDOT Bridge Program Design Guide, a preliminary design report was created, and mandated that any other survey work needed to define right-of-way and bridge layout and alignment be performed and any geotechnical engineering evaluations required to design a new bridge support structure be initiated.
When the new MDOT Three-Year Plan for upcoming projects to be undertaken by the state was released in January 2023, some $1.5 million in funding from the MaineDOT was authorized for a $2.2 million project with the town picking up the remaining $700,000 for the project.
Under the direction of Arienti, Windham then developed preliminary and final design plans in accordance with standards in the latest editions of MaineDOT’s Bridge Design Guide and followed Standard Specifications and Standard Details requirements. Those design plans included a specific plan for the project, a bridge profile including cross-sections, and geometry for approach design.
The plan also featured design computations, load ratings, and evaluation information for the new structure meeting MaineDOT specifications. That included development of an engineering estimate of construction costs and creating a final plan for review by the state.
During Windham’s Annual Town Meeting on June 17, 2023, a warrant item was approved by voters to contribute $700,000 to complete the bridge replacement project.
A public meeting was subsequently held to obtain community feedback about the project, and the town set about coordinating the project with utilities in the area. That was followed by MaineDOT and the town preparing a set of Design Plan Impacts listing all design features, topographical details and impacts associated with the project.
MaineDOT also conducted and documented quality control design checks and provided engineering support during the competitive bidding process and any other additional services as was requested by the town.
Windham Town Councilors put the project out to bidding in November 2025 and awarded the project to Wyman & Simpson, Inc. for the town’s portion of costs in general obligation bond funding for replacing Varney’s Bridge. Seven bids were submitted to replace the bridge, which was originally built in 1950.
Work started on the existing bridge demolition and replacement on June 15 and could take up to 120 days to complete.
The reconstruction work requires a full road closure on William Knight Road and local detours have been put in place for traffic and emergency vehicles for the duration of the bridge replacement. The project is expected to be completed by Oct. 13, 2026. <
