Maine Builds Longest-Span Precast Segmental Bridge with Unique Design-Build Selection Process

The Bath-Woolwich Bridge in Maine will have the longest precast balanced cantilever concrete segmental span in America—128 m (420 ft)—when completed. It carries U.S. Route 1 over the Kennebec River between the city of Bath and the town of Woolwich. The bridge is scheduled for completion in July 2000. The bridge designed by the design-build team has a total length of 906 m, with 12 spans at lengths of 56-56-56-80-128-116-101-101-62-50-50-50 m. The 56- and 50-m end spans are cast-in-place concrete box girders. The center spans are precast concrete segmental erected in balanced cantilever. The two-cell box girder superstructure segments vary in depth from 6 m at the piers to 2.8 m at midspan. The Maine Department of Transportation developed a unique procedure to select a design-build team for this project, which included prequalifying four design-build teams to submit proposals; scoring of technical proposals by a diverse group of 19 individuals; and combining scores with price by dividing the price by the score, with the lowest price per score point winning. The Maine Department of Transportation’s design-build selection process assured Maine of the best value for this important project.