Eight bridges along Interstate 95 in Hampden will be replaced and a ninth rehabilitated over the next two years.
Paul Merrill, a spokesman for the Maine Department of Transportation, said that the bridges are nearly 60 years old and approaching the end of their useful lives.
The construction will affect both northbound and southbound traffic between mile markers 176 and 180. Among the bridges targeted include those carrying the interstate over Souadabscook Stream, another carrying the interstate over Emerson Mills Road and another carrying Cold Brook Road over the interstate, according to Merrill.
Cianbro Corp. of Pittsfield will begin night work Wednesday, but Merrill said that the work slated for the rest of the year will be mostly outside the interstate and have minimal impact on traffic.
The roadwork will then begin on the northbound side, and once completed, work will begin in the southbound lanes, Merrill said.
“We hope to maintain all four lanes of interstate traffic throughout the duration of this work. Interstate traffic will be routed onto temporary median diversions, and speeds will be reduced to 55 mph in the bridge work zones,” Merrill said.
The $44.8 million project is expected to last until Nov. 30, 2022.