LITCHFIELD — The Route 197 bridge over the Maine Turnpike will be closed for repairs and motorists detoured around it for about three weeks beginning Monday, June 18.
T-Buck Construction, of Auburn, the general contractor for the Route 197 bridge repair project, will be removing pavement, performing concrete repairs on the bridge deck, modifying the expansion joints and applying waterproof membrane and pavement.
“Due to the narrow width of the bridge, it does not allow for traffic to be maintained during this work,” project manager Scott Warchol told Litchfield officials in an email.
Signs notifying motorists of the impending closure and the detour — via Hallowell, Plains and Small roads — will be posted near the bridge.
Warchol indicated the contract includes incentives for the contractor to open the bridge sooner.
Crews from T-Buck have been working at the bridge since April, stopping some traffic for 25 minutes at a time around mile marker 94 in the southbound lanes of the interstate, between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
The work on the bridge deck was to begin once beams underneath were repaired.
Daniel Morin, the Maine Turnpike Authority’s public relations manager and legislative liaison, said the Route 197 repair will cost $222,720.
The project was combined with the contract for work on the Academy Road bridge.
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