WILTON – A state transportation official is advising the town to draft a letter justifying the need to replace the Canal Street Bridge at the foot of Wilson Lake.

The Maine Department of Transportation has the bridge on a list to be torn down.

Town officials met with Chip Getchell, assistant chief of engineering for MDOT, and Jim Foster, state bridge management engineer, on Friday to discuss their concerns about creating one entrance to the lake’s boat ramp area if the bridge is not replaced.

The state will tear down the old bridge and provide technical assistance on its replacement, but the town is seeking more help than that.

A replacement pre-fab bridge is estimated to cost $100,000 plus construction costs

The state can’t build a new bridge and has already done temporary repairs to keep it going this long, Getchell said.

It will probably be a year or may be two before the state removes the structure, Getchell told selectmen, Town Manager Rhonda Irish and state Rep. Tom Saviello, U-Wilton. That gives the town time to check on getting state help.

“We try to help out the towns,” Getchell said, but, “bridges that have thousands of cars daily have to be our priority.”

If the bridge isn’t replaced, there are safety concerns about access off High Street behind the former Bass building in case of emergencies. Parking and winter snowbanks create other issues, the MDOT representatives were told.

The Bass building houses Community Concepts, Androscoggin Home Health, Head Start, Care and Comfort, a restaurant and a technology business, Saviello said.

During a visit to the site Friday, town officials showed Getchell and Foster the potential issues of having just one access in case of an emergency.