Water rushes under the Frank J. Wood Bridge linking Brunswick and Topsham on Dec. 20, 2023, two days after a devastating windstorm swept across Maine. Glenn Michaels photo

A federal judge has rejected the latest legal challenge by historic preservation groups trying to save the 92-year-old Frank J. Wood Bridge connecting Brunswick and Topsham.

The structure is scheduled for demolition after construction of a new $49.9 million bridge with a simpler design started last year.

U.S. District Judge Lance Walker ruled Friday in favor of the Maine Department of Transportation, which has argued a new bridge is more cost-effective and will last longer, after the Friends of the Frank J. Wood Bridge and other historic preservation groups filed a lawsuit seeking to stop construction of the new bridge. It was the latest in a series of legal challenges by the groups to save the old bridge.

“We are disappointed, but this was not unexpected,” John Graham, president of the Friends of the Frank J. Wood Bridge, said Tuesday. He said the group is considering an appeal.

Maine DOT said officials explored repairing the bridge to make it last another 75 years but were wary of maintenance costs.

A rendering of the new Frank J. Wood Bridge. Courtesy of Maine Department of Transportation

“There is added risk and uncertainty to keeping a fracture critical bridge in service beyond its intended service life, even if it is extensively rehabilitated,” attorneys for the department wrote in a court filing.

In 2021, the transportation department set a weight limit of 10 tons on the bridge due to its deteriorating condition, meaning large vehicles like fire engines and commercial trucks can’t cross it. Last month, a raging storm damaged part of the bridge’s sidewalk.

In siding with Maine DOT, Walker cited a 2011 federal appeals court ruling involving historic preservation groups who sued the Federal Aviation Administration to prevent the demolition of a historic airplane hangar in Massachusetts. The court sided with the FAA.

“The Agencies’ ‘determination that none of the [rehabilitation] alternatives would be prudent was, on the record before [them], well within the universe of reasonable outcomes. When that is true, it is not the place of a reviewing court to second-guess the agenc[ies],’ ” Walker wrote.

Maine DOT said the repeated legal challenges to building a new bridge have delayed the project by years and driven up the price as construction and material costs rise.

“We are pleased with the court’s decision,” Maine DOT spokesperson Paul Merrill said Tuesday. “This is another in a series of court rulings in support of the process and decision to replace the existing bridge over the much more expensive rehabilitation options. This ruling is further confirmation that the consideration of alternatives was appropriate and the decision to replace the Frank J. Wood Bridge was sound.

“Construction of the project is now well underway, and we look forward to delivering the new bridge to provide a safer, more reliable crossing for the people of Brunswick, Topsham and the surrounding communities.”

The new bridge, expected to last at least 100 years, is scheduled to be completed in 2026. It will have an additional sidewalk, bicycle lanes, “bump-outs” for pedestrian viewing, wider shoulders and parks on both ends.

The historic preservation groups recently appealed a decision by Walker last year to deny a preliminary injunction seeking to stop construction on the new bridge; that appeal is pending.