Photo courtesy of MaineDOT
Reed & Reed’s Caterpillar 314 excavator removes the ledge at Abutment 2.
The Maine Department of Transportation has begun onsite construction to replace the Frank J. Wood Bridge. The bridge carries Route 201 over the Androscoggin River between Brunswick and Topsham.
The lead contractor on this project is Reed & Reed of Woolwich, Maine, and H.B. Fleming of South Portland, Maine, is a subcontractor. The construction contract amount is $49,869,767.
Photo courtesy of MaineDOT
Reed & Reed began work on the project in July 2023 with a completion date in late 2026, "but the new bridge is expected to be open to traffic earlier than that," according to MaineDOT.
In August 2023, Reed & Reed continued hauling in material for the approach of the temporary work trestle. The contractor installed grout pads and anchor rods for pipe piles at bent #1 and bent #2 of the temporary trestle and installed the header beam of bent #1. Reed & Reed also began forming up the lower lift of the leveling slab for retaining wall #1 on the Topsham side of the project. Grout pads for the pipe pile at bent #4 were placed and the contractor began drilling the anchor rods for the pipe pile at bent #5.
In September 2023, work on the temporary trestle continued. Reed & Reed installed bent #5 pipe pile and bent #4 and bent #5 pile caps and installed cross bracing for bent #5, anchor rods and formed grout pads for bent #6. The contractor also installed span 3 steel and started span 4 steel erection and installed crane mat decking for span 3.
In October 2023, Reed & Reed completed excavation work on the Brunswick Temporary Pedestrian Sidewalk, adjusted existing curbs and commenced forming for concrete. Additionally, it wrapped up the fabrication of the driving frame for the pier 3 cofferdam and successfully formed and placed concrete for the temporary pedestrian sidewalk on the Brunswick approach, all while mobilizing a 518 crane.
In November 2023, Reed & Reed finished anchoring the span 8 steel and installed the crane mat decking, installed walers for the temporary structural support at the existing abutment #2, started excavating to ledge, completed installing the sheet piling for the pier 3 cofferdam and started excavating for the seal placement. Meanwhile, HB Fleming installed the driving frame and drilled pile for the temporary trestle bent #10.
In December 2023, Reed & Reed cleaned and excavated to sound ledge and completed cofferdam installation at pier 3. Seal concrete was placed for pier 3. Ledge removal operations continued at pier 2. HB Fleming installed the driving frame and drilled pile for the temporary trestle bent #11.
Photo courtesy of MaineDOT
Dustin Littlefield, Reed & Reed project manager, said construction equipment on the Frank J. Wood bridge project includes a Manitowoc 12000 crane for installing Abutment 1 Cofferdam, a Manitowoc MLC-165 crawler crane for drilling operations and building temporary work trestle and a Caterpillar 314 excavator for removing ledge at Abutment 2.
"The existing bridge is more than 90 years old," said MaineDOT. "A regularly scheduled bridge inspection was conducted and the findings prompted a more detailed inspection. The bridge engineers found rapid deterioration of structural steel, which triggered a drop in the ranking of the bridge deck and superstructure from fair condition to poor condition. Since November 2021, MaineDOT has prohibited all commercial traffic from using the bridge.
"The replacement bridge will improve safety and reliability for the surrounding communities," MaineDOT added. "The new bridge will be located on a curved upstream alignment and will feature enhancements requested by a local design advisory committee. Designed to last for at least 100 years, the new bridge will have sidewalks on both sides (including pedestrian viewing bump-outs), wider shoulders on both sides, parks on both ends, special railings, lighting and other design details and unobstructed views of the natural and architectural features of the surrounding Pejepscot Falls site." CEG
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