WATERVILLE — The first phase of a $60 million project to replace the Ticonic Bridge over the Kennebec River is nearly complete, with the eastbound lane scheduled to reopen in mid-June.

The bridge spans the river on U.S. Route 201 between Waterville and Winslow, where Cianbro Corp. of Pittsfield has been working for more than two years.

Tom Senior, Cianbro’s project manager on the bridge effort, said the team has finished building the approaches and has paved the bridge, marking a major milestone.

“The remaining work in Phase 1 includes adjusting drainage, installing curbs, paving sidewalks at the approaches, and striping the bridge,” Senior said in a statement. “Once these tasks are completed, the bridge will be ready to open to eastbound traffic.”

Waterville’s city engineer, Andrew McPherson, said the lane from Waterville to Winslow is scheduled to reopen after six months of closure, although he doesn’t know the exact date. Motorists have been using the Carter Memorial Bridge to the south of the bridges to the north between Fairfield and Benton while that eastbound lane has been closed.

McPherson, who attends meetings with Cianbro, the state Department of Transportation, Winslow’s public works director Paul Fongemie and others, said the bridge work has gone smoothly.

“Cianbro’s done a great job, everything’s on schedule and I haven’t had any complaints,” McPherson said Tuesday.

Waterville Mayor Mike Morris concurred, saying that having the eastbound lane reopen will alleviate a bottleneck that occurs around 5 p.m. when vehicles cross the Carter Memorial Bridge from Winslow to Waterville. That bottleneck continues onto Silver street, as well as Kennedy Memorial Drive, he said.

Like McPherson, Morris said he thinks Cianbro is doing a great job on the project.

“It’s going to be really impressive when it’s all done,” he said.

Fongemie said it is a big project and if he has any questions or issues, Cianbro clears them up.

“They’ve been very responsive to our concerns,” he said.

Kimberly Lindlof, president and CEO of the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce, said she is happy the  bridge will reopen the week of June 16 with one-way traffic heading east.

“This is the same direction as it was prior to full closure,” Lindlof said Tuesday in an email. “While the construction team puts the finishing touches on Phase I for the one-way reopening, I’m happy to report that Phase II is well underway. The new Ticonic Bridge well-positions the entrance into both communities for years to come.”

“We have removed the arch bridge from the 1911 portion of the bridge, removed the concrete deck from the 1931 bridge,” Senior said, “and begun removing the structural steel from the 1931 bridge. Excavation for both abutments has been completed, and the majority of concrete at the Winslow bridge abutment is complete. These efforts are keeping the overall replacement project moving forward on schedule.”

Last week, Shaw Brothers Construction workers paved the newly constructed approaches and bridge deck to prepare for reopening the bridge to traffic this summer, according to Senior.

“This major milestone will end the remainder of the first phase of the project,” he said.

The bridge replacement project started in December 2022 and is expected to be completed in May 2027. The eastbound lane closed in January this year.

Cianbro officials said late last year that westbound traffic on the Ticonic Bridge would be prohibited for about two more years. Pedestrians will be able to use a new sidewalk on the upstream side of the bridge when the eastbound lane reopens. They have been using the Two Cent Bridge to the north as an alternate route.

The new bridge is being built one half at a time. 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.

The Maine Department of Transportation’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.

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 the transportation department. The bridge was widened in 1970.