The Traffic Pattern On Rt. 69 In Hampden Is About To Change A Bit

Route 69 in Hampden is already kind of a hot mess.

If you live in Hampden, Newburgh, or Winterport, you know how crazy Route 69 can be a bit crazy. In a good year, the road is a winding back road that helps folks have easier access to Route 202 and to get onto Interstate 95 as well. In a bad year, it's a pothole-riddled mess of a road that swallows tires whole.

They've been doing work on it off and on for the last couple of years. At one point, they began to prep for a new bridge to span a stream that crosses the road right near where Meadow Road joins up with Route 69. They put in one of those new-fangled temporary bridges like you see out on I-95 in Hampden right now.

The old bridge is about to be shut down while they build the new one.

I saw a sign on Route 69 just yesterday while I was headed out to run some errands, and noticed there was a digital sign out, presumably from the Maine DOT, stating that the old bridge would be closing on April 4. I'm assuming that work will finally begin on the new bridge.

Although, I have to say, the angle that the temp bridge sits at looks a little awkward. It's definitely going to take us locals a few passes to get used to it. It basically looks like you'll have to enter traffic a bit on Meadow Road before getting back on Route 69. But like most bridges in Maine, I'm sure the old one is becoming a disaster.

Hopefully, this won't end up like the Grist Mill bridge project on Waterworks Hill did. That was built wrong a couple of times. Wrong parts got ordered. You name it. It took waaaaay longer than it was supposed to and disrupted the traffic through town. Let's cross our fingers for a speedy new bridge. And hey.... maybe some new tar on the rest of the road? Pretty please?!

HERE ARE SOME OTHER D.O.T. PROJECTS HAPPENING THIS YEAR, SO YOU CAN ROLL YOUR EYES AT ROAD WORK NOW....