Hampden Bridge Bundle: Third New Southbound Bridge Opening

HAMPDEN - As part of the ongoing work on the Hampden Bridge Bundle Project, the Maine Department of Transportation will be opening the new West Souadabscook Stream Bridge to traffic on the southbound side of I-95 on the night of Sunday, June 26th. There will be lane closures on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday nights.

Interstate speed limits will be reduced to 55 MPH through the work zone. Drivers should drive carefully, observe signage, and obey speed limits. The safety of work crews is MaineDOT's top priority.

This is the third of four new southbound bridges on I-95 in Hampden that will be opened this year. The East and Center Souadabscook Stream Bridges opened earlier this year. The last of the four new southbound bridges, the Emerson Mill Road bridge, is scheduled to be opened in early September.

The Hampden Bridge Bundle Project involves rebuilding eight bridges and rehabilitating a ninth bridge along a four-mile stretch of I-95 in Hampden. The eight bridge replacements are happening on both the northbound and southbound sides of the interstate at four sites between Exits 174 and 180. Three of these bridge pairs cross the Souadabscook Stream and one pair crosses Emerson Mill Road and the Central Maine & Quebec Railway. The one bridge rehabilitation involved with this project is happening at the Exit 180 off-ramp on Cold Brook Road over I-95.

The four bridge replacements on the northbound side I-95 were substantially completed last year. Northbound traffic has been using the four new interstate bridges since then.

The contractor on the Hampden Bridge Bundle Project is Cianbro Corporation. The contract amount is $44.8 million. The estimated completion date of the project is November 30th.