Construction of the new Veterans Memorial Bridge is ahead of schedule, with the bridge due to open July 1, 2012.

“It’s going well, and we are a couple weeks early,” Jeff Folsom, project manager for the Maine Department of Transportation, said Thursday. “Construction is going as smooth as we had hoped, and now we have this good weather.”

The $63 million bridge linking South Portland and Portland over the Fore River is being built roughly parallel to the old Veterans Memorial Bridge, which will be removed when the new one is complete.

“The old bridge is safe now, but the design of it is not up to current standards,” said Charlie Guerette, project manager for the general contractor, Reed & Reed Inc. of Woolwich.

The old bridge, built in 1954, carries 23,000 vehicles per day. The wear and tear has been evident for years, and the decks and pilings are deteriorating. Rebuilding the bridge would not have been cost-effective or addressed traffic jams at the Portland end, Guerette said.

The new bridge, built to last 100 years, is expected to require far less maintenance, Folsom said. It is being built with low-permeability, high-strength concrete that contains corrosion inhibitors.

Reed & Reed and its team of designers and subcontractors have installed almost a third of the 361 concrete segments that will make up the bridge. They are 95 percent done with its piers.

“We put in the 100th of 361 segments last week,” Guerette said.

The segments weigh 60 to 70 tons and measure about 10 feet by 40 feet. They have been arriving daily on trucks from Massachusetts, and the roughly 85 workers on the project have been installing about four segments a day.

The Portland end of the new bridge will be slightly north of the current bridge, with bridge traffic turning onto the Fore River Parkway. What’s now a four-way intersection will become a three-way intersection.

“This will allow traffic to flow much easier, and it will be easier for travelers new to Portland to find their way around,” Folsom said.

An official at Mercy Hospital, which has a campus on the Fore River Parkway, is pleased with the traffic plan.

“We’ve always had a problem with the old bridge and traffic,” said Bill Connolly, Mercy’s property manager. “Traffic management in the new design is a big improvement.”

The new bridge will have a 12-foot-wide, multi-use path for walkers and bikers that will eventually link to Main Street in South Portland.

Both approaches will have memorials for military veterans, including flagpoles at the Portland end. The bridge will also feature landscaping and distinctive rails.

“We want a sense of entry into Portland,” said Christine Cantwell of the Portland Society of Architects, who has been involved in the design of the bridge.

Staff Writer Ellie Cole can be contacted at 791-6359 or at:

ecole@pressherald.com