State and federal officials, including Gov. Paul LePage, gathered in the middle of the Maine Kennebec Bridge, connecting Dresden and Richmond, for a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday, Dec. 5.
The new bridge is a 1,474-foot-long, fixed structure with a 100-year lifespan and was built at a total cost of $14.5 million. With a 75-foot clearance, even the tallest U.S. Coast Guard ships can navigate underneath it.
The original bridge, built in 1931, cost the state $260,000, according to a Sept. 8, 1932 edition of the Lewiston Daily Sun.
The old bridge was rehabilitated and partially rebuilt following major flooding in March 1936, during which three spans of the original bridge broke off and sank into the river, according to the March 14, 1936 edition of the Lewiston Evening Journal.
In the 83-year lifespan of the original bridge, the volume of traffic has increased and vehicles traveling on the bridge have increased in size. The narrowness of the bridge has caused scrapes, scratches, and deterioration.
The state of Maine was awarded a Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery, or TIGER, grant of $10.8 million toward the total cost of the project.
Under construction since July 2013, the Maine Kennebec Bridge has been completed earlier than the anticipated July 2015 date, according to the DOT.
LePage and U.S. Sen. Susan Collins were among the speakers. The Dresden Board of Selectmen was among other officials in attendance.
LePage thanked Collins for garnering the funds necessary to replace the old bridge.
Collins said she knew replacing the bridge was important. “I drove across the old bridge, and as soon as I did, I knew that a new bridge was a priority,” she said.
Elementary school students from Dresden and Richmond joined together to sing “Under One Sky,” showing the union of the two communities by the bridge.
Gregory Nadeau, acting administrator of the Federal Highway Administration, said the new bridge was a priority for the state of Maine. “The new bridge will serve the communities of Richmond and Dresden for a century to come,” he said.
In advance of the new bridge construction, the Maine Historic Preservation Commission required an archaeological survey to identify the presence of potentially significant Native American and historic sites.
According to a handout by the DOT at the opening event, the initial archaeological testing identified artifacts and intact architectural remains that resulted in a determination that a fort indeed was present and was eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.
Findings of the Fort Richmond dig are presently being compiled. The findings will be curated at the Old Fort Western Museum in Augusta.
