A federal judge has rejected a legal challenge to save 92-year-old Frank J. Wood Bridge, connecting Brunswick to Topsham.
According to the Fox 23 Maine, the judge ruled against the group Friends of the Frank J. Wood Bridge and other historic preservation organizations and in favor of the Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT), who argued a new bridge would be more cost effective and longer lasting.
The bridge has deteriorated significantly in recent years, with the MaineDOT posting weight limits and banning all commercial vehicles from traveling across. This includes emergency vehicles like firetrucks and school buses.
However, the Friends of the Frank J. Wood Bridge group along with the National Trust for Historic Preservation sued, claiming the bridge is a historic site.
Designed to last for at least 100 years, the MaineDOT says the new bridge will have sidewalks on both sides, including pedestrian viewing bump-outs, wider shoulders on both sides, parks on both ends, special railings, lighting and other design details, and unobstructed views of the natural and architectural features of its surroundings.
The bridge is set to be demolished once construction on the replacement bridge that started last year is completed.
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Source: Fox 23 Maine
