Old suspension bridge to get a lift State will overhaul 137-year-old New Portland span next summer

NEW PORTLAND – A historic wood-plank suspension bridge over the Carrabassett River that dates back nearly 140 years will be restored next summer.

The Department of Transportation will spend $900,000 to repair and paint the New Portland Suspension Bridge, or Wire Bridge, which opened in 1866 and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.

The 193-foot span is just 12 feet wide with a single lane for vehicles over wood planks.

The deck is supported by wire rope hangers and two main suspension cables, which pass over cast-iron saddles on top of timber frame towers.

According to the National Register of Historic Places, it is one of only two early American suspension bridges that remain basically unaltered.

The bridge was renovated in 1961, when the substructure and towers were repaired, wire rope hangers were replaced, and new deck timbers were installed, said Wayne Frankhauser, project manager for the Department of Transportation.

He said the bridge was thoroughly inspected and tested last September and found to be in need of repair.

The repairs include work on the suspension cables, the wire hangers, the cable anchorages and the saddles on top of the towers. There also will be a new bridge rail and new wood planks at the bridge’s approach.

The bridge for the most part is little known, located on the aptly named Wire Bridge Road off Route 146.

Construction began in 1864, and the bridge opened for traffic in 1866. Some accounts say the cable for the bridge was brought from England and hauled by oxen from Hallowell to New Portland.

Frankhauser said that once the renovation work begins, the bridge will be closed to traffic for a couple of months.