By Dominik Lobkowicz
The South Bristol swing bridge opens for the South Bristol fishing vessel Comin or Goin June 27. The channel, known as the Gut, will
periodically be closed to marine traffic during the bridge’s replacement. (LCN file photo)
The Gut in South Bristol will be subject to periodic closures to marine traffic in the coming months as Cianbro Corporation works to replace the swing bridge spanning the channel, according to the Department of Transportation.
The closures are due to start on Wednesday, Oct. 15 and run until mid-January when the project will shut down due federal in-water work restrictions, according to the DOT’s website. The project will pick up again next summer after July 19.
Currently scheduled closures include Oct. 15-17 and Oct. 20-24, all from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The channel may also be closed at times from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., according to a public notice from the DOT.
The weekly-updated closure schedules will be posted at Gamage Shipyard, Osier’s Wharf, and the South Bristol Fisherman’s Co-Op, as well as at
www.maine.gov/mdot/gutbridge/.
The contractual date of completion for the bridge replacement is Nov. 15, 2016, but the DOT is optimistic the project will be completed that summer.
Cianbro was awarded the project in June after submitting the low bid of $10,995,622, according to the DOT. The bid exceeded the state’s estimate for the project by nearly $3 million.
