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Florida Firm Wins Contract for Maine's Largest Moveable Bridge

The Casco Bay Bridge between Portland and South Portland in 2011 in a photo taken by Mike Cempa.
Mike Cempa
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https://flic.kr/p/9tLAZ5

The Maine Department of Transporation has selected a Florida-based company that specializes in moveable bridge operations to handle routine maintenance on the Casco Bay Bridge linking Portland and South Portland.

It's the first time the DOT has contracted with a private firm for bridge operations. Dale Doughty, director of Maintenance and Operations for the department, says just two companies submitted bids. He says FDI Services Inc was selected based on a scoring process and a total bid price of $3.8 million dollars for five years of work.

"75% of the score was on experience, references, their safety record, their experience with the Coast Guard, those kinds of things. And then 25 percent was based on cost and they also scored very well that way," Doughty says.

FDI Services operates and maintains 51 bridges along the east coast from the Florida Keys to New Jersey and has contracts for the work with both state and local goverments. Doughty says the Maine DOT sought a private contractor for operation of the Casco Bay Bridge because it allows department staff to concentrate on other necessary functions.

"Really, over the last decade or so, we've looked - DOT has looked at all of its activities that it does with its staff and with contractors," says Doughty. "And really tried, over time, tried to choose those things that are best suited for state workers to achieve, to work on. And we just try to balance the two."

About ten state workers will lose their jobs as a result of the transition. Doughty says the DOT will try to reassign some of them and some could be picked up by FDI as needed. Democratic House leaders criticized the move. They say the DOT should have consulted with the Legislature about the decision to hire an out-of-state company to operate the Casco Bay Bridge since both tax dollars and public safety are involved. House Majority Leader Jeff McCabe of Skowhegan said the process should have been more transparent and the public should have had an opportunity to weigh in.

The Casco Bay Bridge is the largest moveable bridge in Maine, carrying as many as 35,000 cars per day and opening for marine traffic more than twice each day. FDI Services is expected to take over routine maintenance of the bridge by early March.