HAMPDEN - On July 14th, the Maine Department of Transportation will be shifting northbound I-95 traffic onto the third of eight new interstate bridges in Hampden. In case of inclement weather, the backup date for this traffic shift is July 15th. This newest bridge, the Center Bridge, crosses the Souadabscook Stream. Heading north, it is the third of the four bridges MaineDOT is replacing on the northbound side of the interstate as part of the Hampden Bridge Bundle Project. Northbound traffic remains diverted to a temporary bridge constructed in the median of the interstate at one other bridge location: where the interstate crosses Emerson Mill Road and the Central Maine & Quebec Railway (EMR/CMQR). This is the northernmost of the four bridges on the northbound side of the intestate. Northbound traffic will be shifted to a new bridge at this location later this summer.
With three of the four new northbound bridges now open to traffic, interstate speed limits will only be reduced to 55 MPH at the site of the EMR/CMQR bridge work. This reduced speed area runs from approximately mile marker 179 to mile marker 180. Drivers are encouraged to drive cautiously, observe signage in the work zone, and obey work zone speed limits. The safety of our crews and contracting partners is MaineDOT's top priority.
The Hampden Bridge Bundle Project involves rebuilding eight bridges and rehabilitating a ninth bridge along a four-mile stretch of I-95 in Hampden. The eight bridge replacements are happening on both the northbound and southbound sides of the interstate at four sites between Exits 174 and 180. Three of these bridge pairs cross the Souadabscook Stream and one pair crosses Emerson Mill Road and the Central Maine & Quebec Railway. The one bridge rehabilitation involved with this project is happening at the Exit 180 off-ramp on Cold Brook Road over I-95.
The contractor on the Hampden Bridge Bundle Project is Cianbro Corporation. The contract amount is $44.8 million. The estimated completion date of the project is November 30th, 2022.