(7/30) The Maryland Midland Railroad Bridge will soon undergo the first step in its long overdue rehab. The bridge, which many residents in Thurmont see currently as an eyesore, will be cleaned up and see a new coat of paint.

Thurmont’s Board of Commissioners voted to approve a $25,100 bid by Blackland Industries, located out of Baltimore. The scope of work for this project includes the cleaning and preparation of the bridge’s surface, painting the bridge, and applying ‘Thurmont’ in white, block lettering on two sides of the bridge.

Three contractors submitted bids for this project, but the town could only consider two of the bids because the third bid was deemed incomplete. The other contender was Titan Industrial Services, also out of Baltimore, who submitted a $28,000 bid to implement the same scope of work. The Board unanimously voted to accept the lowest bid by Blackland Industries.

In order to help cover the cost of this project, the town will use a $20,000 Community Legacy Grant as well as $20,000 in matching funds that they have available within the FY18 budget. Town staff recommended the Board choose to use the remaining funds to help offset traffic management costs as well as the right of entry permit from Genesee & Wyoming Railroad Services.

Blackland Industries expects the project to take five business days to complete with a single lane closure. The bridge will be completed one side at a time, and should hopefully be finished by the end of August. As noted by Chief Administrative Officer Jim Humerick, using four staff members for five business days could really create an impact on town staff. He recommended subcontracting with a flagging company for at least three of the days.

In regards to the lettering on the side of the bridge, Mayor John Kinnaird stated that he would personally like to see "Western Maryland style lettering" as a nod to the original company who built the bridge. It is a form of block lettering, but would tie into the history of the bridge. Commissioner Marty Burns, who started an advisory committee to work on ideas for this bridge, said that he would bring this back to the committee for consideration.

Everyone on the Board noted their excitement that this project is finally coming to fruition. "Thanks to everyone who has been involved in this," said Mayor Kinnaird. It’s well past time to have this bridge painted; it’s been close to 50 years now since the last time the bridge saw a fresh coat of paint.