Lincoln Street bridge improvements moved back to 2027

DOVER-FOXCROFT — Improvements on the Lincoln Street bridge are delayed until next year.

Decking materials are not available for the current construction season, so repairs and improvements of the bridge, which goes over a small stream by the intersection with North Street, will instead be done in the summer of 2027.

The Select Board accepted a $2,440,000 bid from Gordon Contracting of Sangerville for the project earlier this summer. The awarding of the lower of two bids — the other was for $3,845,700 by New England Infrastructure Inc. of Hudson, Massachusetts —  came several weeks after residents voted 5566-376 to move forward a bond not to exceed $2,500,000 for the project. 

Despite the year’s delay, project costs will remain the same. Once easements with adjacent properties are in place, the construction firm will have its prices locked in.

Gordon Contracting told Town Manager Alsina Brenenstuhl about the delay in receiving some project materials, such as decking, shortly before Monday night’s Select Board meeting. The company did not want to start work in 2026 and then have to leave the street unfinished through the winter.

“It’s unfortunate they were unable to get all the final materials,” Brenenstuhl said. 

Gordon Contracting would have had a September deadline to get all the work done.

Construction could be complete in a month once all components are set. 

Dover-Foxcroft received about $1.4 million in congressionally directed spending in the 2024 fiscal year for the replacement project. The money needs to be used by September 2027 or else it will disappear, so the project needs to be underway before then.

“It looks like we will get it into the window for our money,” Select Chair Steve Grammont said.

Many people don’t realize the end of Lincoln Street is actually a bridge with a culvert going underneath the span for a small brook emptying into the nearby Piscataquis River. The street is not in immediate danger of caving in, but this will happen eventually if steps are not taken. 

Built in 1960, the bridge spans just under 17 feet and consists of a reinforced concrete slab on stone abutments. It features two-way travel lanes, angled parking on the south side, parallel parking on the north side and partial sidewalks on both sides of the street with businesses located on each side.

During a late 2022 inspection by the Maine Department of Transportation, the bridge was rated to be in poor condition.

In June 2024 the Select Board approved a preliminary design for rehabilitation from Wright Pierce Engineers.

Town officials signed a bond anticipation note with Androscoggin Bank for interim financing on the Lincoln Street bridge project. The note has a fixed tax-free interest rate of 5.29% per annum for the as-needed borrowing.

“This is kind of gap funding before we get the actual bond,” Brenenstuhl said about the common procedure. The bond would be through the Maine Municipal Bond Bank.

In other business, the Select Board approved a three-year agreement with Citylogix for a pavement management plan. The near $35,500 cost is included in the current municipal budget along with $425,000 for paving.

“This is software that should help us on the town roads that need improvement and the type of improvements they need,” Grammont said.

Citylogix staff will drive Dover-Foxcroft roads and software will record data for the pavement management plan to make existing road dollars go further. 

RJ Horwitz was appointed to the planning board. Now the seven-member board has just one vacancy.

Residents interested in serving on the planning board or the board of appeals (there are five to seven positions for this group) can fill out a statement of interest form through the town website or Facebook page. 

The planning board typically meets monthly. The board of appeals meets as needed.

Last month the Select Board heard a proposal from the Climate Action Advisory Committee to temporarily ban data centers in town for 180 days while the Maine Data Center Advisory Council works to regulate future projects. 

In the spring Gov. Janet Mills, D-Maine vetoed a bill that would have placed an 18-month statewide ban on large-scale data centers.

“We do believe that we should have one. It’s warranted,” Grammont said.

The town attorney is looking at a draft that should be ready for an upcoming select meeting.

The Climate Action Advisory Committee is investigating practices and safeguards concerning data center environmental impact, energy resources and economic development, committee member Carole Boothroyd said in July. Its report is due in early 2027.

A pause in issuing any permits in Dover-Foxcroft on data center projects of 10 megawatts or greater is “a necessary and appropriate action in the best interest of residents and property owners in town,” she said.

Extensions to 180-day bans can be granted as long as the town can legitimately prove the municipality is working on it and needs time.

More than a decade ago, Dover-Foxcroft paused large-scale projects in regard to a proposed east-west highway across the state. This provided some still applicable text in the land use ordinance.