Old Frank J. Wood Bridge comes down as replacement rises
Aerial photos showed the old Frank J. Wood Bridge being peeled away while the new Pejepscot Falls Bridge took shape over the Androscoggin River.
Crews were stripping apart the old Frank J. Wood Bridge over the Androscoggin River while the replacement stood beside it. Aerial images show the old Route 201 span being dismantled piece by piece while the new Pejepscot Falls Bridge rose nearby, and daily commuters are already navigating detours and altered views.
The bridge opened in 1932 and later took the name of Frank J. Wood, the local farmer who suggested the location. MaineDOT classified the structure as more than 90 years old, fracture critical and in poor condition, and barred all commercial traffic in November 2021. The state began the process to improve the crossing in 2014, then moved forward after a federal lawsuit filed in 2019 by the Friends of the Frank J. Wood Bridge, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Historic Bridge Foundation failed to stop replacement. A federal judge rejected that challenge, and the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals later upheld the decision.
Reed & Reed, Inc. of Woolwich won the construction contract in February 2023 for $49.9 million, after delays and construction inflation pushed costs higher. Construction on the replacement bridge began in 2023, and the new span is scheduled to open to traffic in October 2025, with overall project completion listed for November 2026 after demolition of the existing bridge. MaineDOT says the replacement is designed to last at least 100 years and will include sidewalks on both sides, pedestrian viewing bump-outs, wider shoulders, special railings, lighting and parks at both ends.
The new bridge shifts the crossing upstream in a curved alignment meant to preserve views of Pejepscot Falls. The Brunswick-Topsham Bridge Design Advisory Committee, jointly appointed in 2016, helped shape that approach and the name that now puts Pejepscot, an Abenaki place name for the long, rocky rapids of the river, on the span itself.
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