PITTSFIELD -- If you drive between Pittsfield and Burnham on Route 100/11, you'll soon need to find another way around.

State officials have set Sept. 15 as the start date for replacing the Neal Bridge in Pittsfield. The $594,000 project should last 42 days, finishing Oct. 26, state officials said.

During construction, that portion of the road will be closed to traffic. Message boards were set up Monday to alert motorists about the bridge closure.

The official detour route is Troy Road to Route 220 to Route 69. Normally, going from Burnham to Pittsfield would take about 20 minutes on Route 100/11; the detour will double that time, to about 40 minutes.

Pittsfield town officials are concerned that heavy trucks might try to take other detours to get around.

The town of Pittsfield restricts trucks weighing more than five tons on the following roads: Webb Road between Route 100 and Snakeroot Road; Snakeroot Road between Route 100 and Weeks Road; Weeks Road between Phillips Corner Road and Higgins Road; Higgins Road from Weeks Road to Route 2; and Crawford Road between Webb Road and Weeks Road.

Town Manager Kathryn Ruth said she's concerned about heavy trucks traveling some of these "old country roads."

"The roads do not have sufficient base for heavy truck traffic," Ruth said. "In some cases, the roads are deteriorated."

For instance, sections of Webb and Snakeroot roads need repairs costing more than $1 million, Ruth said.

There are other problems if big trucks travel on the back roads, too: "As rural roads, the roads are narrow and it would not be safe for two tractor-trailer trucks to meet on the roadway," Ruth said. "These roads are in our farming districts and often farm equipment is either on the road or crossing the roadway.

"As most of these roads are rural in nature, there are multiple residences on them."

The state-owned bridge is located about a third of a mile north of the intersection of Barney Cianchette Road and Route 100. It was built in 1917 and widened in 1937.

Closing the road for 42 days has irked neighbors and businesses that use the road.

They question whether the road couldn't be kept open to one lane or traffic or why state officials couldn't just stick to traditional, and shorter-to-complete, methods.

The new bridge will be built using carbon-fiber tubes created by the University of Maine. The tubes will be filled with concrete and the whole bridge will be covered by five feet of fill. It will be lengthened from 18 to 37 feet and its width will stay the same at 30 feet from guard rail to guard rail.

Scott Monroe, 487-3288, 861-9253

smonroe@centralmaine.com