Bridge work to pause for sturgeon's sake

Bridge work to pause for sturgeon's sake

The hiatus would allow endangered species to spawn but won't delay construction of the Route 1 bypass.

By PETER POCHNA
Staff Writer

TOPSHAM - Any day now, work on a portion of the $43 million Brunswick/Topsham bypass will come to a halt so that a weird, prehistoric looking fish can bear its young in peace.

The fish is the shortnosed sturgeon, a brownish, bottom-dwelling creature that is usually about three feet long, can live up to 60 years, and is listed by the federal government as an endangered species.

The 1,080-foot bypass bridge crosses the Androscoggin River at about a half-mile below one of the shortnosed sturgeon's favorite spawning grounds. Scott Rollins, environmental permit supervisor for the Maine Department of Transportation, said the work stoppage will not delay the bypass project. He said it will probably last a few weeks, enough time for adult fish to bear their young and for both adults and offspring to swim back down to Merrymeeting Bay.

"It appears this will work out without harming the fish or the project," Rollins said.

The work stoppage was ordered by the National Marine Fisheries Service. It will only affect bridge work that is done in the water. Work on piers above the water can continue.

The stoppage begins when the water temperature hits 46 degrees Fahrenheit. That's when the sturgeon start migrating to their spawning ground. The water is currently 40 degrees. It is expected to heat up in the next week or two.

The stoppage ends on the Brunswick side of the bridge site on June 15 and on the Topsham side on July 15. The Topsham side is deeper and a more likely route for the fish to travel.

About 8,500 shortnosed sturgeon inhabit the Androscoggin and Kennebec Rivers, making it one of the most densely populated areas along the Eastern Seaboard.

Thomas Squires, a state marine resources scientist, has studied the sturgeon's habits extensively to ensure the fish will not be harmed by the project. In 1993 he led a project that planted radio transmitters on some sturgeon to track their location. He found that they often spawn just below the Central Maine Power hydroelectric dam between' Brunswick and Topsham.

That study also examined whether sturgeon visit the construction area during the winter. Scientists drilled a hole in the ice near the bridge site and inserted a three foot long robotic vehicle that drove along the river bottom with a video camera. No sturgeons were spotted. If they had been, the work stoppage might have been much longer.

Squire said the presence of the shortnosed sturgeon in the area was not known until they were discovered in the 1970s during studies of Montsweag Bay that were looking at what impact construction of the Maine Yankee nuclear plant would have on the area

He said previously they were probably mistaken for a better known relative, the Atlantic sturgeon, which can grow to up to eight feet long and 300 pounds.

All the attention the shortnosed sturgeon has been getting might not be for its own good.

"We've found that there are many more of them than was thought when they were listed as endangered" Squires said. "There's a chance they will be taken off the list"