BETHEL – Saturday’s drenching rain did little to dampen the spirits of a large crowd of Bethel-area residents and state government officials gathered to dedicate and open the longest pedestrian bridge in Maine.
After all, most had waited nearly 12 years for the completion of the 400-foot-long span over the Androscoggin River.
“It is a fantastic piece of community infrastructure,” said Mahoosuc Land Trust Trails Committee head Steve Wight of Newry on Saturday afternoon.
Hostess Robin Zinchuk, executive director of the Bethel Area Chamber of Commerce, said the dedication was a celebration of the collaborative effort between state and federal government, businesses and local officials,property owners and residents.
“These things don’t happen without a lot of sweat, a lot of tears, and a lot of meetings,” said Rep. Arlan Jodrey, R-Bethel.
Jodrey thanked Rep. Mike Michaud, D-2nd Dist., for getting federal funding for the $1.4 million bridge, which was prefabricated in five pieces by A.R.C. Enterprises of Kingfield.
The project was funded by a state transportation bond and federal enhancement funds.
Made of weathered steel, assembled and installed this summer by Reed & Reed Inc. of Woolwich, the bridge has been the missing link in the region’s expanding recreational tourism industry.
“This bridge will enable Bethel and the surrounding region to maximize the benefits of community life and economic future,” said Gov. John Baldacci.
He said the bridge is an important safety link for snowmobilers, and will serve as a year-round, multi-use recreational bridge, a catalyst to the extension of the area’s trails system.
“This (bridge) means nobody is going to get killed,” said Rocky Freda, owner of Sun Valley Sports on Sunday River Road in Bethel.
Freda was referring to snowmobilers, bicyclists and pedestrians who risked their lives in heavy traffic every time they crossed the river using the adjacent, narrow Route 2 bridge, which slants recreationists into the traffic lanes.
Freda runs a recreational guide service taking people around the area.
“This is going to open everything up. It will be great for us now, because we can take people to places we never could take them before,” he said.
Places like Evergreen Valley in Waterford, or picturesque Concord and Shagg ponds in Woodstock, or Andover and Newry.
“This is the missing link,” he added.
Area historian and Bethel Selectman Stan Howe said the bridge is more than a structure to provide safe passage for pedestrians, bicyclists, wheelchairs, strollers, Nordic skiers, roller bladers, skateboarders and snowmobilers.
“It may be a significant part of a trail system still being conceived and developed that will make Bethel and the surrounding area a recreational mecca for generations to come,” he said.
After a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony, the umbrellas-toting crowd joined Baldacci in walking across the span.
Comments are no longer available on this story