The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-03-05
A HUNDRED BRIDGES web
Mentioned as Wholly or PARTIAL
1y Destroyed in Maine.-List of Bridges
Great and SmalI-At Least S12O, 600
Worth of Bridges Destroyed.

ly Destroyed in Maine.-List of Bridges
Great and SmalI-At Least $12O, 600
Worth of Bridges Destroyed.
The destruction of bridges over Maine
rivers because of the recent floods has
been unprecedented in the history of the
state as the result of any one storm. This
was oue TO the fact that this great fall of
rain came in winter, when the ground
was frozen and allowed no water to soak
into 1t and the rivers were covered with
thick ice, which was broken up and
hurled against the bridges by the furious
| swollen streams.
AS near as can be estimated from the
newspaper reports the number of bridges,
great and small, actually mentioned as
oelhg wholly or partially destroyed,
reaches the astonishing number of 119 in
Maine, with yet at least one half the
towns OF the State to be heard from. be-
cause little from Penobscot county or the
eastern part of the State and nothing
| from Aroostook, has yet been reported.
Then we take into account the small
hlgnWay bridges across the small rivers
ana STREAMS, the number of bridges
thIouGhout the State destroyed by this
stcrm must have reached at least 200,
ana THIS IS very conservative estimate.
| Inc AndroscGggin and it's tri butaries
destroyed more bridges than any other
river. Following is a brief statement of
inc location OF the 119 bridges actually
mentioned
On the Androsoog gin. the two main
| bridges between Lewiston an Auburn,
the bridge, at Turner village, tine iron
3G al
Androscoggin, the new iron bridge at
Iufner Centre, five small wooden bridges
ana the electric lighting station bridge at
bfuhsWlck, two spans Of the old toll
orldge, known as the bay Bridge" just
apove Merrymeeting Bay. the bridge at
North turner and Jay Bridge. thres or
TOUR bridges over the Little Androscogg-
IN the town of Paris, four bridges at
Mechanlc Falls, two bridges at Bretton's
Mills, the bridge at Shows Falls and
jackson, Guessing over the Little An
drosooggtn and five bridges over Stony
| brook.
| On the Kennebeo the middle span of
| the bridge at Gardiner. and at least half
dozen smaller bridges above Wateryille
IN Skowhegan, Norridgewock, North An
| son and those towns
On the Saco river, the Bradbury iron
bridge at Biddeford, the Seayey covered
| bridge, about two miles above Biddeford,
the bridge at West Buxton and Bar
| Mills. the Bradish bridge across Cooks
brook, at Hollis and the Deunett bridge
across the same stream.
On the PresumpsoOt there were six
| bridges carried away, viz, the bridge to
Dana's mill and the Westbrook Manufac-
| turing Co. S electric tramway bridge at
Saocarappa, the Maine Central Railway
br idge. tho iron highway bridge at Cum
berland Mills, Pride's bridge and the new
| iron bridge Just below it,
On the Little Ossipee the bridges at
East Limington, and Simpsons Mills,
and three small bridges in Limerick. .
| On the Royal river the. wooden bridge
near Shaw's Mills and the factory bridge
at Yarmouth and probably three or four
small bridges farther up the river.
| On Pleasant river in Windham seven
small bridges
On the Sheepscot river the bridge at
Sheepsoot and two bridges at Whitefiel d
and the bridge at Head Tide.
On Crooked river in Oxford county at
least nine bridges.
On the Mousam, nine bridges between
| Sanford and other towns and in Sanford
and several other bridges farther down.
| On the Great Works river and tribu-
taries at North Berwick and South her
wick and vicinity no less than eighteen
bridges, great and small were carried
away.
| On tho Sandy river, the Maine Central
railroad bridge at Bennington.
Other bridges were as foilows:A bridge
at Soarhoro over the Nonesuch.
The Eliot toll bridge in York county.
The bridge at Stanley's Mills in the
town of Newfield.
Three bridges at Thorndike.
The trestle bridge on the Somerset rail-
road near Old Point
The bridges on the Presumpscot will
foot up at least SIS, 200 i'll losses. 1t is
stated that the loss on the two great
bridges at Lewiston and Auburn was
$40, COO and $50, 900. This may be large
but it is safe to say that $50, COO for the
two bridges is not too high figure. The
bridge at Biddeford and Seavey's bridge
above the city probably represent loss
of S., 600.
BIMost of the losses on the Eother bridges
are not large individually, but oollec-
lively mast foot up an average of $500
each. Estimating 100 of these bridges,
which is very conservative and we have
$50, 900 to add to the loss on the expensive
bridges above mentioned, which would
make a total of $3.50, 600, as the lowest
possible estimate of the loss on the
bridges of Maine by this one storm.
That is of course the direct loss. The in
cidental loss caused by the stopping of
trains and delay of business due to the
destruction of these bridges can only be
imagined and must be simply vast