MDOT launches repair work on Babb’s Bridge

By Ed Pierce

Repair work on Babb’s Bridge is underway in Windham, and sooner than expected.

Crews have started working on repairing Babb's Bridge in
Windham after a truck exceeding the established weight 
limit crashed through the bridge floor into the Presumpscot
Rover last August. The repair project is expected to take
about six weeks to complete before the wooden bridge
can reopen. PHOTO BY ED PIERCE  

The historic crossing over the Presumpscot River has been closed to traffic since last summer after sustaining damage in an accident and typically carries more than 360 vehicles per day over the wooden queenspost truss structure.

At about 12:45 p.m. Aug. 23, 2024, police say a Ford F750 truck loaded with 36,000 pounds of crushed gravel attempted to cross Babbs Bridge from Gorham east into Windham on Hurricane Road. The truck’s excessive weight caused planks on the wooden bridge floor to collapse and sent the truck crashing into the Presumpscot River below.

The posted weight limit for traveling across the Babbs Bridge span is 3 tons, or 6,000 pounds, and police said the truck weighed roughly six times the legal limit for crossing the bridge. The truck was 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.

Maine Department of Transportation engineers were tasked with evaluating the structural status of the bridge for public safety and come up with a plan for repairs and restoration of the structure.

A previous wooden covered bridge at the site stood for more than 100 years having reportedly been built by local farmers around 1840. The bridge is said to have been originally named for a family living on property nearby and before its destruction was said to be the oldest covered bridge in Maine.

The original Babbs Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in America but was burned by unidentified 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 celebration in 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. 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. In 2021, the Windham Town Council announced that the National Register of Historic Places had removed its designation for Babb’s Bridge because it is now a replica of the original historic structure.

A note posted on social media by the Windham Town Manager’s Office on Jan. 10 said the MDOT has launched repairs to Babb’s Bridge about four months ahead of schedule. The department had originally said work could not start on the structure until later this spring to obtain necessary materials and favorable weather conditions for repairs but specially milled lumber from Gorham matching the existing bridge dimensions was now ready for installation.

MDOT estimates it will take about six weeks to complete repairs on the bridge at a cost of $110,000 before it can be reopened to the public. <

‘Lost River’ temporarily flows again in Windham after 100 years

By Abby Wilson

When a dam malfunction resulted in the emptying of Dundee Pond at the start of the summer, a lost river took its place.

Whitney Falls has reappeared in Windham as part of the 
'Lost River,' a portion of the Presumpscot River which was 
swallowed up when a dam was built creating Dundee Pond
more than 100 years ago. The 'Lost River' returned this
summer when a dam gate malfunction drained Dundee Pond.
PHOTO BY ABBY WILSON  

Located in Windham and flowing past Dundee Park, this “lost river” is part of the Presumpscot River.

Recently the Friends of the Presumpscot River, whose mission is to protect and restore the waterway, held a series of guided walks for the public along the river called “The River That Flows Below: A Presumpscot River Walk & Talk.”

On Sunday, Aug. 18, both Rob Sanford, a Professor Emeritus for the University of Southern Maine’s Environmental Science Department and Michael Shaughnessy, a founding member and the President of the Friends of the Presumpscot River, explored the lost river landscape with more than 50 community residents.

"The town didn't know this was going to happen," said Shaughnessy. “The disappearance of the pond came as a total shock to everyone, but the formation of this river and what was revealed below, even more so.

Sanford who is also the author of “Reading the Rural Landscape” and the editor of “River Voices: Perspectives on the Presumpscot River,” said that the stumps along the path of the river are 110 to 120 years old.

He is skilled in understanding the story and history of a landscape. Standing at Dundee Park and looking out over the lost river, it was difficult not to notice its dramatic features.

This area of the river was the site of an original canal project dating back to the late 1700s. During this time, many dams were being built along the Presumpscot River for hydroelectricity. The pond was not flooded until 1910, however, which means the last time this landscape featured a river was over 100 years ago.

The former pond’s stark delineation and water line is a very dramatic feature. But it’s the tree stumps and fissured soil that resembles a different planet, or perhaps our planet but in an apocalyptic time.

In the flat areas where the stumps were scarce, Sandford said that these would have been fields filled with grazing sheep. During the time before the area was flooded, sheep would have been valuable commodities.

“In the Civil War a lot of wool for uniforms came from New England,” said Sanford.

A “wolf tree” stump was spotted in a clearing on top of a knoll. Such a large tree would have been where farmers rested with their horses.

Much of the dry soil in the area is gray “Presumpscot Clay,” which was in demand many years ago when Gorham had eight different brickmakers.

In minutes, the features of the landscape can be recognized by the human eye, but Shaughnessy questions the environmental impacts created by the dam malfunction.

"A lot of environmental remediation is going to need to happen here," said Shaughnessy.

He pointed out that the freshwater mussels scattered underfoot were at one time living in the benthic zone of the pond, filtering and cleaning the water.

The color green is returning to the landscape, however, and life can be seen all around. Small flowers and grasses are pioneering their way into the bare landscape.

A Great Blue Heron was spotted in the distance. It triggers the memory of birds that once thrived among the shores of this river.

Presumpscot is the Wabanaki word for “many rough places” and prior to colonization, the river may have featured up to 18 waterfalls. Only three falls are now visible including Presumpscot Falls in Falmouth, Saccarappa Falls in Westbrook, and Wescot Falls near North Gorham Pond.

In the rapids of this 100-year-old river near Dundee Park, “Whitney’s Falls” have reappeared and are now the fourth set of modern-day waterfalls in the area.

This name dates back to a time when fish such as salmon, trout, eels and herring dominated the river. Bear, otters, eagles, and osprey flocked here to claim these fish as their meal.

“This is a unique and historic moment," said Shaughnessy. "The Presumpscot River at Dundee has been dammed for well over 100 years. For the first, and possibly last time, a wild river with vibrant rapids and falls is revealed. In addition, the historic lands, eerily barren, cracked and shorn, but so well preserved, are likewise momentarily seen again. What is revealed is indicative of what lays under many of this river's still waters."

The company that manages the dam that malfunctioned unveiling the “lost river,” Relevate Power Management, has estimated that dam repairs will be completed by the end of August and the impoundment will be refilled thereafter, thus reforming Dundee Pond.

Meanwhile, take a walk back in time through this small valley and visualize a landscape that’s more than a century old.

On Sunday, Aug. 25, Friends of the Presumpscot River will be hosting another informational walk along the "Lost River." Meet at Dundee Park at 3 p.m. and the public is welcome to attend.

To learn more, visit the Friends of the Presumpscot River website at www.presumpscotriver.org <