Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Elna Seabrooks
HERE A PATCH, THERE A PATCH — Tim Donahue, bridge maintenance supervisor for MDOT, points out work done on the North St. Bridge last Thursday that used one and a half tons of patch to close potholes until the bridge is rebuilt in the summer.
By Elna Seabrooks
Staff Writer
HOULTON — The ailing North St. Bridge will get a real facelift in the summer, according to MDOT officials. But, for now, simple cosmetic surgery will have to do.
Tim Donahue, bridge maintenance supervisor for the state, said after repeated patching, “I’m hoping this will last. If it stays cold like this, it should last for quite a while.”
Last Thursday, Donahue’s team of six men “patched the whole thing. We used about a ton and a half of patch. And, it took about two hours.” The problem, he said “is that patch doesn’t stay with water on the bridge and cars pound it out.” Fortunately, last week it was, in his words, “nice and dry. Today, the town helped us out. They scraped all the snow.” Donahue and his team had done similar work just two weeks earlier.
Both Donahue and MDOT spokesman, Jim Ducette, agreed that summer will bring with it a serious overhaul for the beleaguered bridge. Donahue confirmed that the state is going to resurface the bridge this summer.
Town Manager Doug Hazlett said the project will mean a major disruption because of the volume of traffic. “We are going to talk about ways of mitigating that. But, the important thing is that they really have to totally rebuild. You can’t keep patching it because the patches won’t stay in. Until then, this winter, the best they can do is continue to patch the potholes.”
Hazlett said he is not in favor of closing the bridge. “There will be traffic delays. We have to do it one lane at a time. That’s the only way of crossing that river other than Highland Avenue. And, we can’t put all that volume of traffic on Highland Avenue.”
“They have to dig up three or four inches and pour a whole new layer of concrete. That’s a rebuild. I hope the funding is there and that they honor the work plan to bring the bridge back to a condition that is far superior.”
