Bundled Bridge Projects to Enhance I-295 Corridor in Maine

and bicycle access through the area.

The three bridge projects are I-295 northbound and southbound over Route 1 in Yarmouth; the Approach Road and Merrill Road Bridges over I-295 in Freeport; and the Bucknam Road and Johnson Road Bridges over I-295 in Falmouth. The total cost of the three projects is approximately $73 million.

Devan Eaton is a senior project manager in the Bridge Program of MaineDOT.

“Many of our bridges over the interstate were built in the late 1950s and early 1960s and are in a deteriorated condition and need to be widened for capacity,” he said. “Several of the bridges in these projects carry a lot of foot traffic and bicyclists, and the widened bridges will enable safer access to businesses and residences in the area.”

Not only has the traffic load greatly increased over the years (now more than 20,000 vehicles per day on I-295) but the bridges also have been battered by winter storms and de-icing chemicals.

“We are taking steps to increase the life of the new bridges by including corrosion resistant reinforcement,” said Eaton. “We are using stainless steel and low-carbon chromium reinforcing in the structures, which both resist corrosion. We are also using additives in the concrete to help resist chloride infiltration.”

The structural steel girders will also be coated with a zinc-rich coating system that bonds to the steel and should provide longer life. Project designers project that these processes and materials will lead to a 100year life for the bridges.

The new taller, wider bridges will provide more room for snow storage on the structures and lessen the potential for strikes from taller vehicles traveling the roads underneath. State specifications define that

BRIDGES from page 1 see BRIDGES page 14 bridges on/over the interstate have a minimum vertical clearance of 15.5 ft., which many of the existing structures on the I-295 corridor do not meet.

In addition to dealing with wintry conditions, construction teams faced challenges with soft soils around the bridges. Often the coastal areas of Maine are covered with clays, particularly a soft bluish gray material that is especially common near the Presumpscot River. These clays are highly compressible, so to combat roadway settlement in specific locations, designers replaced standard gravels and fill material with lightweight materials to reduce loading.

“We decided to use ultra-lightweight foamed glass aggregate [ULFGA],” said