NAPLES – A Route 302 bridge may lose its swing if it is not buoyed by several million dollars.

The 54-year-old Naples Bay Bridge spans the short river between Long Lake and Brandy Pond. It stands 6 to 7 feet above the water and can swing perpendicular to the road to allow larger craft to use the waterway.

However, the bridge is facing problems. Michael McClellan, executive director of the Greater Bridgton Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce, said it has occasionally stuck in the open position, snarling traffic on the busy highway.

Jim Wentworth, project manager with the Maine Department of Transportation, said the bridge’s problems include corrosion, which is exacerbated by road salt dropping through the open grate decking.

“Overall, the bridge has kind of run its useful life,” said Wentworth. “The maintenance costs are outweighing the replacement costs.”

At a meeting held last Wednesday, the DOT presented four options for the bridge: A fixed span would cost an estimated $6 million, rehabilitation of the old bridge $8 million, a new swing span $14.5 million, and a lift span $18 million.

According to McClellan, $11 million was approved for work on the bridge by the state Legislature last year. Cost estimates have increased since then.

Wentworth said the new costs came not only from new estimates on parts, but also as a result of an interstate bridge collapse in Minnesota last summer. That disaster, which killed 13 people, prompted a re-examination of the condition of Maine’s bridges.

A public hearing on the issue was held Wednesday at the Songo Locks School, where DOT officials presented the situation to Naples selectmen and heard comments.

“The room was full,” said McClellan. “Every chair was taken. People were standing on the fringes.”

At issue is the question of the bridge’s mobility. While the rehabilitation option is affordable, Wentworth said, it would only last 20 years.

“In a long-term financial plan, it’s not a good use of our dollars,” he said.

Wentworth said the DOT has determined since the meeting that a lift span is also not feasible due to its expense, leaving the options of a swing span, which is outside the range of available funds, and a fixed span.

While the fixed span would have a 12-foot clearance, McClellan worried that it would not be enough for taller boats. That, he believed, would reduce visitors to the area and negatively impact Naples businesses.

“If those boats can’t get under the bridge, they’re not going to come that way,” he said. “I think there could be a real snowball effect where people stop going that way.”

McClellan said the Songo River Queen II, a paddle-driven riverboat, would be unable to pass under the fixed span and would be prevented from making its tours through Songo Lock and Sebago Lake. While the boat does offer a tour of Long Lake, McClellan said he believes the majority of the boat’s revenue comes from the longer tours.

Wentworth said the DOT is looking into ways additional funds might be raised to maintain a swing bridge on the site.

“We haven’t got that far yet,” he said. “I would say that within the next few weeks to a month, we will have some idea of where we’re going.”

McClellan and Wentworth both said that the majority of people attending the meeting supported a moveable bridge.

“There definitely are advocacy groups that are going to stay on this,” McClellan said.

A discussion of the bridge’s future will be among items on the agenda when selectmen convene on Wednesday.