WESTBROOK – As work continues on the aging Cumberland Mills bridge on Cumberland Street, state transportation officials are now turning their eye toward a new project in Westbrook to repair or replace the Bridge Street span across the Presumpscot River.

One proposal, which officials stress is a work in progress, would cause Bridge Street to be diverted onto a new bridge, a project that some officials and one local business owner think might be an improvement to the boardwalk and downtown area.

“It leaves that area open to development,” said James Tranchemontagne, who owns the Frog and Turtle restaurant on Bridge Street, just feet from the Main Street intersection.

Benjamin Condon, project manager for the state Department of Transportation, and Tim W. Merritt, senior project manager for Stantec Consulting of Scarborough, are working on several proposals to fix the bridge, which was built in 1956.

At an informational meeting on Aug. 9 in Westbrook, Condon and Merritt said the state expects bridges built today to last about 75 years. The Cumberland Mills bridge, now being replaced, made headlines last fall when a hole appeared in its middle. That bridge, said Condon, is around the same age as the one on Bridge Street. With a recent estimated traffic count along the busy roadway of 12,500 per day, Condon said, it’s time to do something there.

“The intent here is to do the right thing,” Condon said.

Right now, Condon said there is no budget allotted for the bridge work, and no plans have been confirmed, but the hope is to begin work once the Cumberland Mills bridge is finished, which is expected no later than June 2015.

“Everything we speak of is conceptual in nature,” Merritt said at the presentation.

The state is considering some possibilities, including rehabilitating the existing bridge, replacing the bridge with a new one in the same spot, or a third option, which would lead to diverting Bridge Street.

Merritt said not diverting Bridge Street would leave the complicated series of crosswalks in place now, which make it difficult for pedestrians.

“If motorists aren’t paying attention, it’s very easy to not see pedestrians making that movement,” Merritt said.

Today, drivers coming along Bridge Street toward Main have two choices after crossing the bridge: going straight, and turning onto Main at a lighted intersection, or turning right, just after the bridge, onto a spur that leads to another intersection on Main Street.

The diversion proposal, according to the state, includes building a second bridge just upstream from the one that exists now. Then, Bridge Street would be diverted down, along that bridge and onto what is now the spur. That means drivers coming across the bridge toward Main would wind up driving behind the building that houses, among other businesses, Portland Pie Co.

As to the existing bridge, Condon said, there is a possibility that, under the diversion proposal, it could be made into a footbridge, and integrated into the boardwalk that already exists along the river.

City Councilor John O’Hara, who attended the presentation, said he was worried that pedestrians on the proposed footbridge would not be able to look upstream and see the Presumpscot Falls.

“We’re trying to use the river as an attraction to lure businesses downtown,” he said.

Councilor Paul Emery, who also attended, agreed, calling a view of the falls “essential to the beauty and the attractiveness of the downtown.”

Condon promised to take all interests into account, saying, “In the end, it’s a balance of all the aspects.”

Condon also noted that the portion of the existing Bridge Street between the bridge and Main Street could be used for a number of purposes under the diversion plan, including a pedestrian mall. Not having a turning lane on Main Street at the Bridge Street intersection, he added, might allow for more parking along Main Street, something city officials and local business owners have wanted for years.

Tranchemontagne said he didn’t mind losing traffic flow in front of his business.

“It’s of no value to me whether there’s a road in front of me or not,” he said.

In fact, Tranchemontagne said, he’d like the section in front of his business to be used for, among other things, outdoor seating, both for Frog and Turtle and Portland Pie.

“That’s what I would hope for,” he said.

Condon said the department is concerned about making sure parking won’t be affected. A preliminary study of the project, including the diversion proposal, shows no change in the number of spaces behind Portland Pie. Brandon Schmidgall, general manager of the popular eatery, said what little he knows of the proposal so far doesn’t concern him.

“I don’t think it will negatively affect our business,” he said.

Condon said he did not have a timeline for the project’s next step, but ideally he would like to put out bids for it next year.

State transportation officials are trying to figure out how to fix up this bridge on Bridge Street. Just in front of it, cars can turn onto a spur that leads to Main Street. A new proposal would create a new bridge to the left, and call for Bridge Street to go down the spur to Main Street. (Staff photo by Sean Murphy)