FARMINGTON – County commissioners reviewed estimates to fix the decaying Beech Hill Bridge in Madrid on Tuesday.

County road agent Paul McKeen closed the bridge in early November due to safety concerns. Corroded bridge abutments are falling into Saddleback Stream, which flows into the Sandy River, making the bridge impassable, McKeen has said.

Located less than a mile off of Route 4 from the center of Madrid on Beech Hill Road, the one-lane bridge has an upper and lower deck.

The lower deck was built years ago by the county and is supported by a center piling that comes up from the water and abutments on both sides.

Last year, the county paid $15,000 to buy the upper deck, a temporary bridge that sits a few feet above the original bridge.

Mark Rafford of Rafford Bridges Inc. in Ashland estimated that it would cost $28,000 for materials and manpower to fix the bridge. That bridge would be 40 feet long and have a 16-foot-wide roadway.

The second estimate, from Dopp & Dopp Associates Inc. of New Hampshire was for $45,424, but just included the materials for a 50-foot-long bridge. The county would have to hire a contractor to install the bridge under that proposal.

The estimates were not bids, but simply gave commissioners a general idea of the project’s financial magnitude. McKeen will write up specifications for the project and commissioners are expected to vote to put it out to bid at their next meeting.

The county has about $38,000 in a capital improvement reserve account for the project and will add $15,000 to that when the unorganized territory budget is approved later in the month.

Commissioner Fred Hardy said the county is “pretty much committed” to the project.

In another action, commissioners approved the hiring of Joseph Brooks as a reserve patrol deputy for the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department.

Brooks, a resident of West New Portland, has been working part-time for the Carrabassett Valley Police Department.

– Samantha C. DePoy

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