GARDINER — More than four months ago, the owners of Dennis’ Pizza closed the business and vacated the building.
On Monday, 17 Bridge St., the century-old structure with its green clapboard siding whose main access is from sidewalk on the Bridge Street bridge, is coming down.
The demolition is part of a state Department of Transportation project in Gardiner that will replace both the Bridge Street and Maine Avenue bridges in 2019.
As part of the project, the DOT acquired the building in December 2016 to tear it down.
Demolition contractor Central Maine Disposal spent Friday staging heavy equipment in the Arcade parking lot along Cobbosseecontee Stream to prepare for the demolition, which may last through Tuesday.
“The bridge will remain open,” Barb Skelton, Gardiner code enforcement officer, said Friday, “but the underpass will close.”
On Friday, the Gardiner Police Department posted a traffic advisory.
While demolition is taking place, no one will be able to drive or walk under the Bridge Street Bridge, and access to the area surrounding the building will be restricted.
During the first part of the demolition, the sidewalk and parking spaces on Bridge Street in front of the building are expected to be closed. It’s possible that Central Maine Disposal may close the stairs from the Arcade parking lot to Bridge Street by the A1 Diner.
Notices about the pending demolition have been posted in the Arcade parking lot.
Both bridges, which cross Cobbosseecontee Stream near where it flows into the Kennebec River, are at the end of their useful lives.
The bridges are expected to be replaced in sequence, starting with the Maine Avenue bridge. The work is expected to get underway once the Water Street reconstruction project in Hallowell is finished.
Jessica Lowell — 621-5632
Twitter: @JLowellKJ
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