One of New England’s last covered bridges remains closed after a truck exceeding the bridge weight limit crashed through its wooden floor last Friday.
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| Babb's Bridge, a wooden covered bridge over the Presumpscot River, will be closed until at least next spring after a truck weighing six times more than the 3-ton limit attempted to cross into Windham from Gorham on Aug. 23 and crashed through the floor in to the river below. COURTESY OF GORHAM POLICE |
The posted weight limit for traveling across the Babbs Bridge span is 3 tons, or 6,000 pounds, and Nault said the truck weighed roughly six times the legal limit for crossing the bridge.
The truck is owned by The Driveway Guys Company of Biddeford and was driven by Joshua Polewarzyk of Limington, 37, who was able to free himself from the truck in the water and sustained minor injuries in the crash. He was cited for excessive truck weight in crossing the bridge and was fined $2,500.
Engineers from the Maine Department of Transportation were tasked with evaluating the structural status of the bridge, which remains closed at this time to the public.
A previous wooden covered bridge at the site stood for more than 100 years and was listed in 1972 on the National Register of Historic Places. The bridge is said to have been originally named for a family living on property nearby and before its destruction was the oldest covered bridge in Maine.
The original Babbs Bridge was burned by arsonists in 1973. Using donated lumber milled exclusively in Gorham and with work performed by community volunteers, the bridge span was rebuilt as an exact replica of the original Babbs Bridge and reopened to the public in conjunction with America’s Bicentennial 1976.
It is a single-span queenspost-style truss bridge, with a total structure length of 79 feet and a width of 13 feet, 9 inches. The bridge end portals have a posted height limit of 10 feet and the bridge is covered by a gabled roof, with its side and end walls finished in vertical board siding.
Vandals cut a hole in the bridge’s roof in 2014 which was subsequently repaired, but damages that were caused by a snowplow truck in 2015 required the bridge to be closed again temporarily.
Again in 2016, MDOT authorized a near-total $160,000 makeover of Babbs Bridge based upon its original design. Work performed at that time included the installation of cement stone blocks for the bridge abutment. Other renovations in 2016 featured stripping off the bridge’s roof and replacing it with rough cut boards and plywood before topping it with cedar shingles. Work was also completed on the bridge’s sides and entrances at that time.
MDOT estimates that about 360 vehicles use the bridge every day. During the summer months, the property surrounding the bridge is popular with swimmers but the water level for the Presumpscot River there this year has been much lower than in the past because of issues connected to the Dundee Pond gate malfunction in May.
The owner of The Driveway Guys has apologized for the incident and has pledged to assist in community efforts to repair or replace the bridge.
MDOT issued a press release Tuesday saying the bridge can be repaired but that work isn’t expected to be finished there until next spring and the bridge will remain closed until then.
Information in the press release said that Babb's Bridge is inspected at least every two years and that the last inspection of the bridge for safety took place at the end of July. <
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