HARTLAND, New Brunswick (AP) – A major ice jam on the St. John River has raised concerns about the safety of the world’s longest covered bridge.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the gap between the top of the ice and the bottom of the 105-year-old wooden bridge in Hartland was only about two yards.

“We’re a bit worried about it because we have a lot of winter left yet – and not only worried now but what will happen in the spring,” said Mayor Neville Hargrove.

With rain in the forecast, Hargrove was worried the river could rise and threaten the 1,230-foot structure.

“Usually you don’t see this until we get the main runoff in the spring,” he said. “I’ve never seen the ice flow this high in January before. The ice has never run in January, to my knowledge.”

Hartland is just north of Woodstock, a key international border crossing into Houlton, Maine.

Andy Morton, deputy director of the provincial Emergency Measures Organization, said water levels at Hartland were slightly above the flood stage Wednesday. They were expected to rise slightly overnight and into today because of rain.

He said officials were watching the situation closely, but admitted there was little that could be done to break up the ice.

“The problem you have in a situation like that is, where does the ice go?” said Morton. “You can’t just pick it all out of the river and truck it away because you’re talking about (nearly four miles) of ice.”

Morton said officials hoped that water running through the jam would wear away at the ice.

“If the jam moves or not is anyone’s guess at this point,” he said.