Demolition will begin next week on a section of the Old Town bridge that collapsed during construction on Aug. 14, injuring one person.
The new Llewellyn Estes Bridge was being built to carry Stillwater Avenue over the Stillwater River. The daytime collapse of one section was captured on video by a camera at a downstream dam.
The cause hasn’t been officially disclosed, but the reconstruction will use traditional steel girders in place of the fiber-reinforced polymer girders that were used in the collapsed section.
During the upcoming demolition, the temporary bridge that has been carrying traffic over the river at that point, will be closed periodically between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. starting Tuesday, Oct. 13, and potentially continuing into the week of Oct. 19.
The exact timing of the closures, which are necessary because of how close the temporary bridge is to the collapsed span, will depend on “demolition operations, construction progress, weather conditions, and other site-specific factors,” Maine DOT said.
When the bridge is closed, Stillwater Avenue drivers will be detoured on a route that includes Bennoch Road, North Main Street, and College Avenue.
The bridge contractor, Reed & Reed, will work with a specialized demolition subcontractor to separate the failed span from the pier and abutment. The span will then be broken into smaller sections, lifted from the river and processed on land, Maine DOT said.
