Drive on the Brunswick, Topsham, Maine, Bridge? Prepare for a Partial Closure

The Frank J. Wood bridge was built in 1932 to span the Androscoggin River between Brunswick and Topsham. After 90 years, it's showing its age and is scheduled for replacement as soon as bids on the new construction are sent out by the Maine DOT and a contract is awarded.

Inspections on the bridge used to be conducted every two years, but the deterioration of the bridge has forced the Maine DOT to do inspections every six months.

You can see by the photos below that were taken during an inspection a year ago, there are definitely many areas of concern. The Maine DOT determined that repairing the bridge would be more costly than tearing it down and building a new one.

The latest inspection is being conducted on October 25 to October 27 and the Maine DOT says there will be closures while the work is being done between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.

If you're crossing the bridge from Topsham to Brunswick, you should have no issues. However, if you are crossing from Brunswick to Topsham, you'll be detoured onto the Topsham bypass.

At least the inspection is just three days long and won't be inspected again until April.

In the meantime, take a look at the design for the new bridge as seen from the Brunswick side of the river.

Out with the ninety-year-old bridge and in with the new modern bridge. Hopefully, it will still carry the name of Frank J. Wood.

If you want to see more images of the design of the bridge hit the link below.