By mid-November, Barters Island Bridge will be closed and traffic will be re-routed to a temporary bridge until the partial replacement project ends next spring. Maine Department of Transportation engineer Glenn Philbrook reported the $8.2 million project, which began in July, is on schedule. “Our focus is on the temporary bridge. The last section should be completed by Nov. 8 and then we will open the temporary bridge so we can begin work on the Barters Island Bridge,” he said. 

The temporary bridge will have one-way alternating traffic from mid-November until Barters Island Bridge’s partial replacement is completed next spring. The temporary bridge has a weight limit of 50 tons, the legal limit for Maine roads. Last year, Barters Island Bridge’s weight limit was reduced to 20 tons. The updated bridge will remain 200 feet long, but its center span will be seven feet wider. “It’s a partial replacement of the bridge’s center pier and center swing. It will no longer be a manually operated bridge. It will be fully automated with new gates and lights.”

Upon completion, the updated bridge will have a 50-ton weight limit. When traffic is re-routed to the temporary bridge, there will be a vertical limit on boats passing below, Philbrook said.