New Veazie bridge nears completion

VEAZIE — Believe it or not, the Main Street bridge is nearly completed.

Sometime in June, residents will be able to travel the new state-of-the-art structure, more than a year after construction began and seven months after the first planned completion date, according to Town Manager Gerald S. Kempen.

Kempen said Tuesday that the bridge now was passable for emergency vehicles and should be open to public traffic “optimistically in early June, realistically in mid-June.”

Construction workers are scheduled to pave the bridge May 1 if materials from the concrete plant are available, he said. After the paving, workers will tend to curbing, sidewalks, guardrails and plants, Kempen said. Also, he said, the contractor promised to extend the paving to Olive Street at its expense to provide a smooth transition.

Built in 1890 with a life expectancy of 50 years, the old wooden bridge was nearly a century old when the town decided to replace it with a concrete-and-steel model last year. A primary reason for replacing the old structure was because it had a load capacity of only 7 tons, and was inaccessible to heavy emergency vehicles. Also, the bridge provides a vital link to Main Street and the school and fire station.

Construction on the bridge began last March at an estimated cost of $850,000. The federal government picked up 75 percent of the cost, with the town and the state splitting the remaining 25 percent.