HERMON – During the summer and fall of 2006, members of the Penobscot Snowmobile Club spent hundreds of hours erecting a new covered bridge to allow safe passage over a local stream.

The bridge, including both ramps, exceeded 30 feet in length.

The project was launched by Michael Armstrong, an avid snowmobiler and member of the Boy Scout Troop 25, who needed a project to complete the requirements for his Eagle Scout badge.

Armstrong, a student at John Bapst Memorial High School, did the planning, obtaining of state and local permits and permissions and fund solicitation for his project early last year. Then, working with members of the Penobscot Snowmobile Club, he acquired the materials and built the bridge over several months.

Armstrong said that he was fortunate that many members of the club were adroit at the skills necessary to accomplish his vision. He gives all the credit to the generous donors and snowmobile club members who gave of their time, talents and money to make the bridge a reality.

The landowners – Allen and Sandra Dorr – who also are long-time members of the Penobscot Snowmobile Club, were generous contributors to the project by allowing access through their land, as well as extensive use of their construction equipment, knowledge and time to assist in the project.

Due to this fact, Armstrong decided to name the project in honor of them and is carving signs for each end that say “Dorr Bridge.”

Andy Witham, president of the club, said that it was the second covered bridge that the club has built and is to be used by all snowmobilers and other snow sport enthusiasts.

The bridge was built on the local trail No. 8 which connects to ITS 84, part of the state-wide Interconnected Trail System that allows many snowmobilers the ability to leave home and travel across the state using designated, groomed trails maintained by volunteers from the local clubs along the way. Additionally, the access on these trails is made possible by the generous consent of the various landowners over which these trails cross.

Members of the Penobsoct Snowmobile Club and others who were able to give of their time included Mark and Stephanie Armstrong, Larry Davis, Rick Bernardini, Alan and Sandra Dorr, Mark, Deb and Colby White, John Monk, Fred Richards Sr., Fred Richards Jr., Dave Finley, Tom Frost, George Page, Tim Richardson, Lee and Barb Landry, Andy Witham, Kevin Hartford, Nick Page, Reid Monk, Ed Armstrong and Kim Poole.

Michael Armstrong also had a suitable plaque erected at the bridge site, thanking the volunteers and financial contributors who donated time and money toward the project.

He expressed his thanks to everyone involved for helping him achieve his goal.

“Thank you to all those who contributed to making this bridge possible,” Armstrong said. “It is only because of generous people like you that my Eagle project could become a reality.”