A federal judge last week rejected a challenge to the effort to replace the bridge linking downtown Brunswick and Topsham after years of costly legal battles.
The U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston affirmed the U.S. District Court's decision supporting the Maine Department of Transportation's replacement of the Frank J. Wood Bridge. The decision, issued on Friday, Jan. 10, upholds a District Court decision issued in January 2024.
The appeal was part of a years-long lawsuit filed in 2019 by the Friends of the Frank J. Wood Bridge, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Historic Bridge Foundation. In January 2024, US District Judge Lance Walker ruled in favor of the MDOT.
Reed & Reed, Inc. construction equipment sits idle at the Frank J. Wood Bridge between Brunswick and Topsham on a late afternoon Friday, Sept. 6. Paul Bagnall/The Times Record
"This latest ruling reaffirms that the decision to replace the Frank J. Wood Bridge, rather than rehabilitate the existing structure, was and is the best way to continue to provide a safe and reliable connection between the villages of Brunswick and Topsham," said MaineDOT Commissioner Bruce Van Note.
The replacement for the 90-plus-year-old structure, which carries Route 201 over the Androscoggin River between Brunswick and Topsham, began construction in April 2023. Steel beams are currently being placed on the new piers and abutments. All work associated with the construction contract awarded to Reed & Reed, Inc. of Woolwich for $49.9 million is scheduled for completion in late 2026.
MaineDOT began the process to improve the bridge crossing in 2014, but legal and process delays through a period of soaring construction costs caused by inflation caused the new bridge replacement to cost more than triple the original estimates.
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"This is the eighth court ruling since 2020 that supports the new bridge decision made by the state and federal transportation officials after an extensive public and permitting process," Note said.
The groups opposing the project could still appeal to the US Supreme Court, though it's highly unlikely the court would consider the case. Of the roughly 8,000 cases they're asked to review each year, the Supreme Court only accepts about 100 to 150.
MaineDOT hopes the consistency of the prior legal rulings and support for the new bridge between Brunswick and Topsham will lead the plaintiffs to conclude that it is time to end this lengthy and expensive legal process, Note said.
The new bridge design is intended to last at least 100 years and will have sidewalks along both sides and bump-outs for pedestrian viewing of the river.
The Friends of the Frank J. Wood Bridge did not respond to requests for comment.
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