GARDINER - The Maine Department of Transportation will be replacing the Maine Avenue Bridge, which carries Route 24 over the Cobbosseecontee Stream in Gardiner. This work will require a full closure of the bridge beginning Friday, October 18th at 12:01 a.m. The new bridge is scheduled to reopen at midnight on Friday, November 1st at 11:59 p.m. Crews will be working around the clock during more than half of the 15-day-long construction window. Detour routes will be clearly marked during the full closure. There will be minimal impacts to parking. After the new bridge opens, drivers should expect an alternating single-lane traffic pattern while construction is finishing. The new Maine Avenue Bridge will feature two 11-foot-wide lanes, two five-foot-wide shoulders, and one five-foot-wide sidewalk.
The extension of the Kennebec River Rail Trail also reached a significant milestone with the recently installed multi-use bridge over the Cobbosseecontee Stream. When completed, the trail enhancements will include landscaping, ornamental lighting, safety features, and interpretive panels.
All this work is part of a comprehensive set of traffic improvements in Gardiner that also includes the replacement of the Bridge Street (Route 201) Bridge, intersection improvements in the downtown area, and significant utility upgrades. The work on this $12.6-million project is expected to be largely finished by the end of 2020. Reed & Reed, Inc. of Woolwich is the contractor on this project.