Construction continues Friday for the project to replace the Western Avenue Bridge, which carries traffic over Interstate 95 in Augusta. Work has started on a temporary bridge, with traffic set to move over in the fall, reducing the current six lanes over the interstate to only three and changing traffic flow in the area. The new bridge in the $30.9 million project is expected to be open by mid-October 2025. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

AUGUSTA — The replacement of the Western Avenue Bridge, which carries thousands of vehicles a day over Interstate 95, will ramp up this fall, with traffic moving over to a temporary bridge under construction now, reducing the current six lanes over the interstate to only three.

When the switchover to the temporary bridge takes place, likely in late November, motorists will no longer be able to turn left from the westbound side of Western Avenue, which is also U.S. Route 202, onto Whitten Road, as that intersection will be moved to make room for construction equipment. The left-turn lane there now will return after the project is done.

During that time, westbound Western Avenue motorists looking to get onto Whitten Road, which provides access to the Hannaford supermarket there as well as several businesses in the Turnpike Mall, will use the southbound onramp for Interstate 95. Instead of continuing onto Interstate 95, they’ll use a temporary access road, much of which still remains in place from a previous bridge construction project, to get onto Whitten Road, just beyond the Maine Evergreen hotel.

Devan Eaton, senior project manager for the Maine Department of Transportation Bridge Program, told city councilors Thursday there was no way to fit the large pieces of construction equipment, such as a crane, into that area to do the work while still maintaining the Whitten Road intersection. So the intersection will be moved a bit east for the year or so the temporary bridge will be in use, and still open to eastbound Western Avenue traffic.

“The bridge is so close to this intersection we just couldn’t provide appropriate construction access, so by shifting that intersection and removing that left turn lane we were able to fit everything through there, as far as the through traffic goes,” Eaton said. “Pedestrian access will be maintained at all times, vehicle access maintained at all times, access to Whitten Road maintained at all times, so it’s really the best case scenario we could provide for those things while still having something that was buildable.”

Sometime in the October-November time period, Exit 109B off Interstate 95, which brings traffic westbound onto Western Avenue toward Winthrop, will be closed for about 30 days to allow the temporary bridge to be completed. Motorists can still get onto westbound Western Avenue via Exit 109A.

For one weekend in that same time period, just before the temporary bridge opens, both ramps off Interstate 95 at that site will be closed, which Eaton said would be publicized before that short-term closure.

The temporary bridge is expected to be in use for about a year, during which time work crews will demolish the existing bridge and construct a new one. Eaton said demolition of the old bridge is likely to be noisy, and could draw complaints, but most of that work would take place during the day, not at night.

A crew works on a temporary replacement for the Western Avenue Bridge in Augusta, which is being rebuilt beginning this fall. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

City councilors said while the major project is sure to be disruptive, it appears to have been designed to limit its impact, including by not detouring traffic around the project on nearby residential roads, such as Old Winthrop Road, which was briefly pondered during early project planning stages.

“I’m probably the (city) councilor closest to the project and I also shop at that Hannaford, so this is very impactful to my life and I’m sure many other people who live nearby,” said At-Large Councilor Stephanie Sienkiewicz. “What I’m hearing is there’s a lot of intention to maintain the traffic flow to the different businesses while not impacting those neighborhoods. There probably will still be inconveniences, like all construction projects, but this does sound less impactful than the original design.”

Another design change added to the project since inception was the addition of full-width sidewalks on both sides of Western Avenue, with a total of around 3,500 feet of sidewalk, about 1,900 of that new. The sidewalks will be wider than sidewalks there now, and thus up to federal standards, and will run from Edison Drive to Senator Way, instead of just ending at the end of the bridge as they do now. Eaton noted footpaths in the grass on the stretch with no sidewalk now indicate the area already does have extensive pedestrian use.

The new bridge will be 16 feet above Interstate 95, compared to the existing bridge, which is only 14 feet, four inches above I-95. The 16-foot clearance will, unlike the existing bridge, meet federal standards that are meant to prevent bridges from being hit by equipment passing below it. The bridge at Exit 109A had to be replaced in 2017 after it was hit by something from below.

The current construction estimate for the project is $30.9 million.

The existing bridge has failing paint, an eroding slope, rusting steel beams, worn-out bearings, and cracked and breaking concrete.

Eaton said the new structure, replacing one built in the 1950s, will have a coating on it expected to last 50 to 60 years, versus a typical paint job expected to last 25 to 30 years, and said the goal is the bridge will last 100 years. The new bridge will be grayish in color.

Traffic on Interstate 95 will be able to travel both north and southbound throughout the project. However, when steel beams are being set for the new bridge, there will be some rolling lane closures on I-95 because that work can’t take place with traffic below it. That work would take place at night when there is less traffic.

The new bridge is expected to be open by the end of paving season, typically mid-October, in 2025. Work including removing the temporary bridge and roadway, removing the Whitten Road connector and putting down loam and soil and finishing sidewalks would likely continue into 2026.

Western Avenue sees about 16,960 vehicles heading eastbound and 10,970 traveling westbound each day, according to state data. Under the bridge, on Interstate 95, data shows 20,190 vehicles travel northbound and 14,810 southbound daily. Whitten Road, near Texas Roadhouse and Hannaford, sees 4,961 vehicles daily.