Rural infrastructure renewal package includes 40.5 million dollar replacement of iconic Two Cent Bridge
U.S. Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine, the Chairman of the Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, recently announced that Maine will receive roughly $45 million through the Federal Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant program to fund broader transportation projects aimed foremostly at restoring six bridges in rural Maine, including the 117-year-old Ticonic Pedestrian Bridge that spans the Kennebec River and connects Waterville to Winslow.
The move comes in response to a newly-released report detailing the increasingly deteriorated state of Maine’s rural infrastructure – including roads, bridges, and essential transport links– set to pose a substantial risk to communities
throughout the state in the coming decades.
The Ticonic Bridge was constructed in 1901 as a simple footbridge by the Ticonic Foot Bridge Company. After its destruction that same year due to local flooding, it was rebuilt in 1903 and re- mains one of the oldest surviving wire-cable steel suspension bridges.
Notably, it stands as the last known extant pedestrian toll bridge Two Cent or Two Penny bridge, comes from its crossing toll rate set at two cents un- til 1960 when the Ticonic Foot Bridge Company officially gifted it to the City of Waterville.
Today, the Ticonic Bridge comprises three parts, including a former trolley line built in 1909, a roadway built in 1936, and an additional roadway built in 1970.
The Ticonic Bridge, among five other pedestrian and vehicle bridges,
has been determined to be in critically poor condition warranting immediate restoration or replacement.
“If these bridges were al- lowed to continue to deteriorate, they would become subject to eventual closure, resulting in substantial de- tours and economic harm,” Senator Collins said regarding the infrastructure reinvestment in a recent press release.
MaineDOT’s application for the Ticonic Bridge re- placement funding emphasized the location’s demand for a suitable alternative to relieve local congestion.
Earmarked in the appropriations includes the allocation of nearly $25 million to MaineDOT for infrastructure restoration and new construction ventures in Kennebec County specifically. According to MaineDOT’s Waterville Work Plan, roughly $8.5 million has been allocated so far to replace the Ticonic Bridge with a con-
temporary bridge boast- ing wide lanes, shoulders, sidewalks, and bike lanes among other restoration projects throughout Kennebec County.
According to MaineDOT, the planned restoration is slated to begin as soon as 2022. However, with additional uncertainty added into the mix due to COV- ID-19, much of the preliminary details remain shroud- ed although MaineDOT spokesman Paul Merill suggested the replacement could be completed by 2026 in an interview with The Portland Herald.
Regardless, officials at MaineDOT remain confident, insisting the bridge replacement will improve accessibility and long-term prospects for the rural community by improving traffic flow and mobility of local residents, commercial vehicles, and tourists. This is especially vital to a regional economy already hard hit by COVID-19.
~Aaron Mills `24