Motorists cross the Ticonic Bridge Monday into Winslow as workers construct the new bridge that spans the Kennebec River connecting Waterville and Winslow. The bridge will be fully closed to traffic for six months, starting later this year or early next year. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

WATERVILLE — The Ticonic Bridge spanning the Kennebec River between Waterville and Winslow is expected to be fully closed for six months, starting late this year or early next year, according to officials.

Cianbro Corp. of Pittsfield has been allowing one-way traffic from Waterville east to Winslow with closures mostly overnight. But it is necessary to close it fully for six months in the first part of 2025 for total access, according to a Cianbro news release.

“Both pedestrians and vehicles will be required to follow the posted detour routes,” it states.

The work schedule has included a full, six-month closure from the start of the project to complete the work in a safe and timely manner, Paul Merrill, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation, said Monday in an email.

While Cianbro Corp. has proposed closing it fully from Dec. 16 this year to June 20, 2025, both DOT and Cianbro officials are discussing the timeline this week to try to move the closure to after the holidays, as they understand the impact a mid-December closure would have on the area, Merrill said. More specific information about the start of the closure should be available later this week, he said.

Detour routes may be viewed on the Maine Department of Transportation website and message boards will notify drivers of the bridge closure.

Work on the $56.8 million project started in December 2022 and the bridge is scheduled for completion in May 2027, Merrill said.

Motorists cross the Ticonic Bridge Monday into Winslow as workers construct a new bridge that spans the Kennebec River connecting Waterville and Winslow. The bridge will be fully closed to traffic for six months, starting later this year or early next year. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

Motorists have been using the Carter Memorial Bridge, south of the Ticonic, as an alternate route to travel to and from Winslow. Drivers also use the bridges spanning the Kennebec River from Fairfield to Benton.

Cianbro officials said in the release that after the 2025 reopening, westbound traffic on the Ticonic Bridge will be prohibited on the bridge for about two more years. Eastbound traffic will resume on the day of reopening, when pedestrians will be able to use a new sidewalk on the upstream side of the bridge.

The new bridge is being built one half at a time, according to Cianbro officials.

“During construction, limiting the number of lanes on the bridge will be necessary to provide the space needed by the contractor to demolish the existing bridge and to build the new one,” the company’s release states. “While construction is underway, two lanes of eastbound traffic will be maintained across the bridge with westbound traffic detoured south to the Carter Memorial Bridge.”

Funding to replace the bridge includes a $25 million federal grant, about $20 million in federal funding, with the remainder funded with state and local money, according to Merrill. He said the bridge construction is on schedule.

Workers on Monday building the new Ticonic Bridge that spans the Kennebec River connecting Waterville and Winslow. The bridge will be fully closed to all traffic for six months, starting later this year or early next year. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

The state DOT’s grant application to the U.S. Department of Transportation said the bridge had deteriorated to the point that the end of its useful life was near. Further attempts to repair or rehabilitate the bridge would not restore the full integrity of the structure to meet today’s safety needs, load requirements or geometric standards.

The new bridge will improve traffic flow and mobility of local residents, commercial vehicles and tourists that are vital to the region’s economy, officials said.

A Morning Sentinel newspaper clipping from 1936 shows floodwater threatening the Ticonic Bridge days before the bridge was wiped out. Morning Sentinel file

The bridge was a steel truss bridge in the 1800s, according to the state DOT website. In the early 1900s a concrete-arch trolley bridge was built and opened in December 1909, with a 500-foot track that spanned the river at Main and Bridge streets. In its heyday, the trolley carried more than 2 million passengers a year.

The flood of 1936 significantly damaged the bridge and reconstruction was done as part of the U.S. Works Program Flood Relief projects, according to DOT. The bridge was widened in 1970.