Black Bridge

Well fortunately, there could be 6+ years to save the bridge. Now would be the time to begin organizing a movement to save this landmark.

The railroad has been almost completely abandoned and may face demolition by 2024. Last time a train was spotted crossing this bridge was over a year ago, and even then, reportedly trains only crossed about once a month.

This bridge altogether with its former lower deck would’ve been a great candidate for restoration for pedestrian use. With the railroad abandoned, and the lower deck no longer safe for traffic, we could see a unique bridge with pedestrians only on one deck and bicycles only on another deck. Yet, instead MaineDOT had to remove the unique lower deck and now threaten to demolish the entire bridge if the railroad doesn’t start “using it” again. Shameful.

If the State of Maine spent the money and Maintained the existing bridges, instead of letting them rust and fall apart, then they would not have to replace so many. As a tax payer, I'm a VERY dissatisfied customer!

Rail traffic has not been over this bridge in a while.

I received notification that the lower deck demolition is completed. On HistoricBridges.org I have a special status identifier "L" to indicate a bridge that isn't totally demolished, but has experienced loss of the critical elements of historic significance. A similar status identifier should be considered here... since this is no longer a unique bridge that is one-of-a-kind, but is now just a regular riveted RR through truss... still a historic structure, but about as far from unique as its possible to be.

There goes the deck!

*Shrug*

C'mon Luke... That was just a bit of editorial dramatization!

;-)

"After removal, the vehicle bridge structure will be completely gone and just the train trestle will remain."

Removal ≠ blown up.

BREAKING NEWS! THE BLACK BRIDGE IS TO BE BLOWN UP!

http://www.timesrecord.com/news/2014-05-02/Front_Page/Bridge...

No surprise,though.

The floodwaters are getting really close to send this bridge to its watery grave. Only about 5 FT. from the road deck! Fingers crossed.

The statement made on the first comment about the daily traffic is, in my opinion, grossly understated. The traffic coming and going to BIW daily would place the number of cars crossing the bridge closer to forty or fifty besides the regular citizen traffic. I live in what is known as Topsham Heights and my doctor, grocery store, church, close friends and relatives are all readily accessible by the Black Bridge. Since its closure, I have to circle around to the Green Bridge which adds miles and gas consumption weekly. The cost of repair, a little over a million dollars is a mere pittance compared to most DOT jobs. The majority of the citizenry in the area would like to see the bridge repaired and put to good use. The fact that it is a historic bridge should also prevent the destruction of it.

I can't disagree with your assessment, and I'm sad that this decision was made; however, MaineDOT has been severely underfunded for decades, and that situation has gotten dramatically worse during the past two years because of the current governor. DOT is being put in the position of having to choose only those projects with the highest priority and affecting the highest number of people, so it's no surprise that this bridge didn't make the cut (I believe it was only carrying 5 or 6 cars a day when it was still in service). As a bridge fan and as a Mainer, I'm still very sad about it... although this sadness can't even begin to compare to my continued sadness over losing the Waldo-Hancock Bridge... something that could've been prevented if MaineDOT had an aggressive and fully-funded preventative maintenance program...

What else would you expect from a DOT that treats historic bridges like they are a cockroach infestation? This suspended deck is one of the most unique features I have ever seen on a historic bridge. The entire deck was suspended from the truss by rods held together by a pin-connected system.

MaineDOT announced today that they are going to permanently remove the lower vehicle deck, as it would be cost prohibitive to repair or replace it.

http://bangordailynews.com/2013/07/05/news/mdot-plans-to-rem...

just to give an update on this bridge, this bridge is closed and has been for some time. It had been open to pedestrian crossing only for a while and months ago it was closed to all traffic, pedestrian or otherwise.

Thanks for the site though i am really geeking out on this stuff

Brice

I assume this bridge is classified as a Baltimore by HAER--I believe that it is rather a subdivided Warren truss, as you can trace the main diagonals without lifting your finger.

Road portion of the bridge was closed April 6, due to an accident(car hit one of the steel support rods). inspected July 11th, and found extensive repairs are necessary. MDOT does not have the funding for repairs. So the road portion closed until further notice. Railroad section is unaffected and remains opened.