Turner Center Bridge opens across Androscoggin River

TURNER — The Turner Center Bridge over the Androscoggin River opened for traffic today following a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The $7.5 million structure is 34 feet wide, compared to the previous 20-foot-wide bridge. Town Manager Kurt Schaub said school buses and emergency vehicles will have a much easier time using the bridge now; the old bridge was too narrow to allow two buses to pass.

The bridge, which connects Turner to Greene, took more than two years to complete.

: Ethan Whittemore, 14, of Poland cuts the ribbon as the new Turner Center Bridge over the Androscoggin River opens to traffic between Greene and Turner on Tuesday. The 480-foot bridge replaces the bridge in the background that was built in 1937. Workers with Reed & Reed started construction in March 2013. The old bridge will be dismantled and moved in sections, said Thomas Densford, designer of the new bridge. The $7.5 million project will be complete by December, said Densford, an engineer with Fay, Spofford & Thorndike. Whittemore’s dad, Chris Whittemore, is the project superintendent.

: Gil Busby of Greene gets into his car to be the first person to drive over the new Turner Center Bridge between Turner and Greene on Tuesday. Busby and his wife, Mary Charbonneau, live next to the bridge and were chosen to be the first to drive across. “It was hard,” Charbonneau said about the disruption outside their home during construction. The noise of the trucks beeping while backing up was the worst part, Charbonneau said. “When the workers finally went home each evening, it was amazing.” Robert Curtis of Greene was the second driver to cross the bridge. “From day one, (Curtis) has been down here taking pictures of the work,” said Doreen Casey, a friend of Curtis.

: The old bridge at left was built in 1937. It will be dismantled and moved in sections, Thomas Densford, designer of the new bridge, said.