The Maine Department of Transportation is replacing the structurally deficient Western Avenue bridge in Augusta, costing $30 million. The new bridge will feature wider sidewalks, shoulders, and a solar farm. Construction includes prefabricated bridge units and corrosion-resistant materials for longevity.
Photo courtesy of MaineDOT
Throughout May 2024, crews worked on the Augusta Western Avenue bridge project with structural rock excavation
and clearing ledge at abutment 2 footing.
When a bridge goes from tight to right, people notice. Especially when that bridge is in the state capital. The Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) decided to begin this transformation of the Western Avenue bridge located on U.S. Route 202 (Western Ave.) over Interstate 95 in Augusta.
The old bridge, nearly 70 years old, was structurally deficient and had been struck many times from the traffic traveling underneath. The bridge did not have ADA sidewalks or proper shoulders. In a word, it was tight. The new bridge will be right.
Photo courtesy of MaineDOT
The project will include some 1,350 ft. of sidewalk, which will connect pedestrian access on both sides of the roadway. In addition to the sidewalk, the new bridge will have approximately 4 ft. of shoulder in each direction.
The new bridge will be a two span, steel girder and concrete deck construction supervised by local contractor Reed & Reed. The new bridge will be approximately 2 ft. higher than the old one and should reduce the number of strikes made from oversized vehicles traveling below. Not only will new greenspace be added in the construction, but a 2.5-megawatt solar farm was added adjacent to the bridge in 2023. The cost of the project will be approximately $30 million.
Workers are building a three-lane detour on the north side of the bridge. The left turn from Western Avenue to Whitten Road at the end of the bridge is being removed during construction and a temporary connector roadway to Whitten Road from the I-95 southbound on-ramp will be installed to provide access. Businesses, hotels and the normal path for legislators will be able to continue.
Bridge construction planners in Maine must take into consideration the heavy weather in winter plus salts and mixtures used to de-ice the roads.
"Standard practice on our higher priority roads is to use a corrosive resistant reinforcing in the structure to extend its lifespan," said Devan Eaton, one of the project managers of MDOT's bridge program. "We used low carbon chromium in the concrete and metalized [thermal spray coating] the steel beams. We also used additives in the concrete to increase the resistance of the concrete to the salts and de-icing mixtures."
The low-carbon chromium conforms to ASTM A1035-CS alloy, he added.
For several reasons, including the tight spaces and speed of construction, the contractor decided to build the bridge in sections off site. These sections called prefabricated bridge units (PBUs), consist of two steel beams with a precast concrete bridge deck. These PBUs are installed one at a time using a Manitowoc crane with a 275-ton lift capacity to put the bridge together one piece at a time.
"We are building the PBUs in our yard in Woolwich," said Dom Cyr, Reed & Reed's project manager. "The bridge will be 18 units in all with closure strips in between the precast units to fit everything seamlessly into place.
The old bridge will be demolished once the new precast bridge is ready for the big lift.
The construction of the bridge and roadwork will require considerable quantities of material, including:
- Structural steel: 473,500 lbs.
- Steel reinforcement: 137,000 lbs.
- Asphalt: 5,180 tons
- Concrete: 2,114 cu. yds.
The construction team will use dozers, paving machines and rollers on the project. The team also used excavators to move approximately 14,500 cu. yds. of earth and rock for the bridge replacement work. Reed & Reed is using small cranes in its yard to help assemble the precast bridge units.
Contractors Gendron & Gendron will be performing all the earthwork on the project. Usually in construction, workers drive piles into the ground for support. In this case, bedrock is quite close to the surface, enabling workers to proceed without piles. The concrete abutments will be as tall as 24 ft. in some locations, based on the slope of the road underneath.
The new bridge will be on the route that many state legislators take to get to the capital. The bridge is close to a busy intersection as well.
"This is a high-priority project," said Eaton. "We want to do a quality job and ease the congestion and improve the intersection while enhancing safety for Maine residents and visitors." CEG
Chuck MacDonald
Chuck MacDonald is an editor, blogger and freelance feature writer whose writing adventures have taken him to 48 states and 10 countries. He has been the editor for magazines on pavement construction, chemicals, insurance and missions. Chuck enjoys bicycling, kayaking and reading. He graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in journalism. Chuck lives in Annapolis, Md. with his wife Kristen. They have seven grandchildren.
Read more from Chuck MacDonald here.
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