Portland ? A mechanical and electrical systems evaluation is currently underway on the Casco Bay Bridge which spans the Fore River connecting Portland and South Portland.
This bridge needs to be raised and lowered for some of the evaluation testing. Efforts will be made to coordinate with marine traffic but a few openings may occur without ship passage. In those instances, the openings will be brief and should only last approximately five minutes. Those openings are scheduled for off-peak hours.
This twenty-year old bridge is being evaluated differently than a typical bridge inspection. The evaluation will not only look at how the systems are operating today but to also look at what is needed for the future, both short and long term.
This action will enable MaineDOT to develop an asset management plan for the bridge that will help identify for systems needs and their associated costs. The goal is to have the Casco Bay Bridge function as reliably as practically possible for mariner and vehicular traffic.
While testing is scheduled to be completed tomorrow, Thursday, February 22, additional testing may occur subject to new information obtained during the evaluation.
MaineDOT appreciates the public?s patience as we take this important step to ensure the future systems needs of this bridge.