MADRID — The official opening for the Perham Stream Bridge on the multi-use trail will happen at noon Saturday, Aug. 27. The bridge is at the confluence of Perham and Orbeton streams and is a major crossing on the ITS 84/89 snowmobile trails and the Moose Loop ATV trail.
This long-awaited single-span steel girder bridge replaces a bridge which was damaged during Hurricane Irene in 2011.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony complete with free hot dogs and hamburgers is the final stage of a three-year collaborative process between the High Peaks Alliance, North Franklin Snowmobile Club, Narrow Gauge Riders ATV Club, landowner Mark Beauregard and others.
Funding for the bridge included grants from Maine’s Recreational Trails Program, the Franklin County tax increment financing program and the Betterment Fund.
The trail was only closed for one week while the old bridge was removed and the new was installed. The bridge is now open for public motorized and non-motorized recreation, with a vehicle width restriction of 60 inches.
Maine’s multi-use ITS 84/89 trail crosses the Orbeton Stream parcel, an area of working forest conserved through a conservation easement in 2015 secured by the Trust for Public Lands with funding from the Forest Legacy and Land for Maine’s Future programs. The High Peaks Alliance served as a local partner for the Trust for Public Land in establishing the easement which preserves public access to this beautiful trail for riders, bikers and hikers.
The celebration will be at the site of the Perham Stream Bridge. Parking will be on Reeds Mill Road near the intersection with ITS 84/89. Additional parking is available near the Madrid Trailhead of the Fly Rod Crosby Trail.
FMI: 207-416-4952, www.highpeaksalliance.org.
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