News Release for August 8, 2007

Contact: John Buxton, 624 - 3588

INSPECTION TO CLOSE MEDFORD BRIDGE WEDNESDAY

The bridge carrying the Medford-Howland Road over the Piscataquis River in Medford will be closed for part of the day Wednesday (August 8th) while a Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) team inspects the structure.  The bridge is located on an unnumbered route just north of Medford Center, about half way between Milo and Howland.

“It’s one of six Maine bridges with the same engineering design as the I-35W Bridge which collapsed last week in Minnesota.  We have an aggressive schedule to inspect all six bridges, but Medford is unique because it’s a one-lane bridge,” explains John Buxton, head of MaineDOT’s Bridge Maintenance Section.

“On most bridges, the deck is wide enough for us to maintain one lane of traffic and do our inspection at the same time.  But the Medford Bridge is only one-lane wide and doesn’t allow us to maintain traffic and do a thorough inspection at the same time.”

“We plan to close the bridge to traffic between 10:00 Wednesday morning and 4:00PM Wednesday afternoon.  We may be able to reopen it sooner than that depending on how things go, but the safest bet for drivers in the area on Wednesday is to plan on it being closed until 4:00,” Buxton continues.

Originally built to carry trains across the Piscataquis, the bridge was converted for use by highway vehicles after it was no longer needed for railroad use.

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