Maine Department of Transportation’s Great Falls Bridges Project has been officially completed and drivers using the bridge linking Gorham and Windham are relieved that they no longer must seek an alternative route.
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| After being closed for 53 days, the Great Falls Bridges linking Windham to Gorham have reopened to the public. The project cost almost $400,000 and work was intended to improve the condition of the existing bridge structures while preserving the existing deck and superstructure longevity of the bridges, PHOTO BY ED PIERCE |
The bridges are located about 0.5 miles west of River Road and the repair project was first contained on MaineDOT’s lengthy list of road and bridge projects featured in its annual Three-Year Plan in January 2023.
Andrew Gobeil, Director of the MaineDOT’s Office of Communications and Creative Services, said the project is now finished.
In a recent MaineDOT study, the average daily traffic for vehicles crossing the Great Falls Bridges between Windham and Gorham is 1,910 vehicles per day with about 8 percent of that traffic consisting of heavy transport trucks.
The actual bridge wearing surface replacement involved 350 feet of approach work, installation of guardrail transitions and flare terminals, and expansion joint modification. Workers also installed concrete coring connect to the bridge beams and removed a troublesome light pole that conflicted with the new guardrail plans.
The project’s purpose was to improve the condition of the existing structures while preserving the existing deck and superstructure longevity of the bridges.
Scott Construction says it intended to minimize impacts to the traveling public and impacts to adjacent properties and utilities throughout the project and implement a cost-effective solution to fixing the bridge’s wearing problem.
Maintenance of traffic during construction was achieved by closing the bridges and detouring traffic to an alternate route.
All project work for the Great Falls Bridges Project used use specific erosion control measures conforming to the latest version of State of Maine Department of Transportation Standard Specifications for Highways and Bridges and the Department of Transportation’s Best Management Practices for Erosion and Sediment Control.
Both Great Falls Bridges were originally constructed in 1970 and during its most recent inspections by MaineDOT engineers, each of the bridges showed signs of significant cracking and rutting on deck and paved surfaces.
The bridges are situated near the Great Falls Dam, one of the first sources of hydroelectric power in the Lakes Region of Maine. Use of hydroelectric power was implemented by early Great Falls settler Zebulon Trickey, who built bridges and mills on both sides of the Presumpscot River in the Great Falls area. When a wildfire swept through the Great Falls hamlet in 1872 and destroyed the mills and one of the bridges built by Trickey, settlement of the Great Falls site and residents residing there declined and the property was eventually annexed by the Town of Windham.
The contracted amount for the 2025 Great Falls Bridges Project was $398,567. <
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