The Max L. Wilder Memorial Bridge spans the Sasanoa River to connect Arrowsic to the mainland. Construction on the bridge will being on Monday, Aug. 10 and wrap up in mid-November. Photo courtesy of the Maine DOT

ARROWSIC — The Maine Department of Transportation expects to start repairs on the Max L Wilder Memorial Bridge next week

The 838-foot steel bridge carries Route 127 across the Sasasoa River to connect Arrowsic to Woolwich, and is Arrowsic’s only connection to the mainland.

The only roads leading into neighboring Georgetown is Route 127 by way of Arrowsic, meaning the bridge is a lifelife to Georgetown residents as well.

Construction is expected to start at 8 a.m. Monday, Aug. 10, and end in mid-Novemeber, according to Greg Scott, owner and president of Scott Construction Corp., the company contracted to do the work. During construction, the bridge will be reduced to a single lane of alternating traffic controlled by stoplights at either end of the bridge.

“Our traffic signals have cameras on them and they can be adjusted in real time to make sure traffic doesn’t back up too much,” said Scott. “It’s not perfect, but it should help move things along.”

According to the most recent MDOT traffic data, about 3,280 people crossed the bridge daily in 2016.

Crews will resurface and repave the bridge while replacing three of the four bridge joints that allow the bridge to expand and contract with temperature fluctuations, according to Scott. The work will cost just over $1 million in state and federal funding.

“This is just maintenance work so we can get a little more life out of the structure,” he said.

Built in 1950, it was known as the Arrowsic Bridge, but it was renamed after its designer, Max L. Wilder, after his death in 1963.

According to Meghan Russo, manager of legislative and constituent services for MDOT, the bridge is known for being “an excellent example of an unaltered and well-proportioned cantilever truss,” a bridge formed by two projecting beams or trusses that are joined in the center by a connecting member and are supported on piers and anchored by counterbalancing members.

During an inspection report last September, all parts of the bridge were reported to be in “fair” condition, the same rating it received in 2017, said Russo. The bridge was rehabilitated in 1985 and in 2010 the surface was replaced. The bridge was painted in 2002.