Sagadahoc Bridge

The Sagadahoc Bridge is a four-lane concrete segmental box girder bridge between the towns of Bath and Woolwich, Maine, carrying U.S. Route 1 (US 1) over the Kennebec River. It was completed in 2000 to replace the two-lane road portion of the adjoining 1927 Carlton Bridge, which remains in use as a rail bridge. It is 2,972ft and features the longest precast concrete segmental span in North America at 420ft. It is also notable for being the first design/build project undertaken by the Maine Department of Transportation. The bridge cost $46.6 million, and is the last downstream road crossing of the Kennebec.HistoryThe Longmont-based firm Flatiron Structures/Figg Engineering Group was chosen to build the bridge, and the company broke ground in October 1997. Construction proceeded faster than expected and was finished about a month early, on August 1, 2000. The final cost was $46.6 million.Funding to construct the Sagadahoc Bridge was available by 1997, but had to be committed by October of that year or the federal funds intended for it would expire. Beginning construction in the time required would not permit the traditional design, bid, and build process to be done, as it would have delayed construction by 18–24 months. MDOT decided to use a design/build process, which it had never done before. The quick construction schedule led to public concern over the aesthetics of the project. Due to that, MDOT created a Public Advisory Committee, hired a public relations firm, and held public hearings about the project to solicit public comment and input as to the aesthetics and the project contractor itself. Most aspects of the bridge were selected through public input, such as the bridge color, railings, lighting, and surrounding landscaping. The inclusion of a pedestrian underpass on the Woolwich side to access the bridge also came about due to public input.