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State's Plan for New Span in Naples Raises Concerns

June 11, 2008 - NAPLES — Four decades after he traveled between Bridgton and Portland aboard the canal boat Green Lake, Charles Stickney remembered his trip along the waterway in clear detail.

The hearty boatmen nourished themselves on substantial fare like baked beans, salt pork, and both brown and white bread, and retrieved cold water from Long Lake by sinking a stone jug with a stopper that popped in the depths.

As the boat passed by fields, harvesters joked about "freshwater sailors," recalled Stickney, who was a farm boy from Bridgton when he took the trip.

"I rejoice to this day that I had that experience so novel, so interesting, so thoroughly enjoyable," Stickney wrote in a piece on the Cumberland and Oxford canal published 108 years ago in the Portland Sunday Telegram.

The canal system, which carried goods between Portland and interior Cumberland and Oxford counties, declined as railroads became the dominant mode of transport. But boaters today can still follow Stickney's route from Long Lake to Sebago Lake.

Now, a plan to replace the Naples causeway bridge has some people worried that the waterway will become inaccessible to some larger boats.

State transportation officials are considering replacing the swing bridge with a fixed span, which critics say would hurt an economy that relies on tourism, much of it related to boating.

The swing bridge opens to allow boats of any height to pass between Long Lake and Brandy Pond, which leads to the Songo River and Sebago Lake. A cheaper, fixed bridge would have a clearance of about 14 feet and prevent the passage of taller boats.

It's not possible to travel the length of the canal system by boat anymore, but the waterway between Long Lake and Sebago Lake is still active, with as many as 50 boaters on each side of the Songo Lock waiting to pass through on busy summer days.

Carl Talbot said that 45-mile navigable inland waterway from Harrison to Standish is part of what makes the area unique and attractive to boaters. He said a fixed-span bridge would sever the waterway for some.

"I think when you destroy 180 years of navigable waterways by building a bridge, you're taking the easy way out," said Talbot, manager of the Songo River Queen II, a 92-foot paddle wheeler that makes excursions to the Songo River from its dock on Long Lake.

With its second story rising 20 feet above the water, and stacks 7 feet beyond that, the paddle-wheeler could not fit under the fixed-span bridge.

Swing bridge supporters have a visible presence in town. They have organized a committee, and "Save the Bridge" signs dot the causeway area.

But the fixed-span option also has its supporters. A straw poll of Naples residents last month produced 484 votes for a swing bridge and 339 votes for a fixed-span bridge.

Some people favor the fixed-span bridge because they blame summer traffic tie-ups on bridge openings, according to Selectmen Dana Watson, who said he's neutral on the style of the replacement bridge. On summer days, the bridge opens on even hours.

Watson said there is opposition to a new swing bridge but people are hesitant to voice their opinions.

"Nobody wants to speak up and say they're for a closed bridge, because these people are kind of militant," Watson said of the other side.

Felicia Cummings, a real estate agent who works and lives in Windham, said the priority should be on getting a new bridge, whatever the style. She said that most boaters wouldn't be affected by a fixed-span bridge, and that the more expensive option is a waste of taxpayers' money.

Transportation officials say a fixed bridge, which would come with causeway improvements, would cost about $8 million. A new swing bridge, without substantial causeway improvements, would cost about $14.5 million, but that estimate is still being refined.

Because there isn't enough state and federal money available for the swing bridge option, about $4 million would have to come from other sources, like the town, businesses or fundraising, according to a letter from Transportation Commissioner David Cole.

Transportation officials say most boats would be able pass under the fixed-span, which would be at least 12 feet high and probably as much as 14 feet. Transportation officials will work with local officials to determine how the process should proceed, said Mark Latti, a spokesman for the Maine Department of Transportation.

When Stickney took his trip in 1859, the canal passed through a drawbridge that was at the foot of Long Lake. He recalled how the boat passed the quiet village of Naples and into Brandy Pond. The boat went through the Songo Lock and along the Songo River, where it was pushed with heavy poles, before reaching Sebago Lake.

A canal system was under consideration even before Maine became a state. In 1791, a study by the Massachusetts Legislature determined that a system linking Portland and Sebago Lake was feasible. But attempts to raise money for the project failed because of a depression in 1807.

Canal projects were being built around the country by the time the next effort got under way, in 1821. The effort led to the creation of the canal system, but not without financial difficulties. The Cumberland and Oxford Canal Corp. held a lottery in 1824 and established Canal Bank in 1825 to help meet costs.

"Canals were the biggest construction project ever in the early 19th century. It required a lot of capital, and Maine lacked capital, so it was tough," said Joel Eastman, a professor emeritus at the University of Southern Maine.

Construction began in 1827 and was completed in 1830. The system included about 20 miles of canal dug by Irish laborers and more than two dozen locks to compensate for the 260-foot elevation change to Sebago Lake. The last remaining lock is Songo Lock, where about 3,675 upriver boat trips were recorded last summer, according to Steve Garron, head ranger at Sebago Lake State Park.

The Cumberland and Oxford Canal Corp. never made money, but the canal system benefited the area nonetheless, Eastman said.

The canal system's arrival was a boon to Cumberland and Oxford counties, which previously did not have much commerce because the cost of transportation was too high, he said.

According to Stickney's account, the canal boats – pulled by a single horse on the adjacent towpath – usually carried between 25 and 30 tons of goods, and sometimes as much as 60 tons. The boats were loaded with cargo that included firewood, timber, groceries, imported household items and sometimes spirits.

Eastman said the Portland, Saco and Portsmouth Railroad, the first in the area, arrived in 1842, but didn't compete directly with the canal.

The second, the York and Cumberland, did hurt business, and the Atlantic and St. Lawrence led to the canal company's bankruptcy.

The canal company was sold to private operators in 1857. They ran the canal system until 1870 – the same year that the Portland and Ogdensburg Railroad was built to Sebago Lake, parallel to the canal. The last run on the dug portion of the canal was in 1872.

Staff Writer Ann S. Kim, Portland Press Herald, June 10, 2008.

Lakes: Brandy Pond, Long Lake, Sebago Lake
Regions: Sebago


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