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Whites Bridge Reopens at Standish-Windham Townline

June 04, 2010 - STANDISH -- After a cold, wind-whipped winter spent constructing the new Whites Bridge, the May 27 ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the opening of the span connecting Standish and Windham near Sebago Lake Basin was a welcomed ending to the nine-month construction project.

In stark contrast to the bitter cold days construction workers spent remaking the busy bridge, beautiful balmy weather allowed for a grand-opening ceremony on the span, with several local business people from the Sebago Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce joining owners of a lodge and marina that had been impacted by the bridge closure.

The local business group was there to welcome back Sebago Lake Lodge & Cottages and Richardson's Boat Yard, which have both been cut off from the main Route 302 corridor since the bridge closed Sept. 8, 2009.

"I'm thrilled the bridge is back. It's been difficult for people to find us," said Deb Collet, owner of Sebago Lake Lodge. "But not anymore. It's been a long time coming."

Collet's sentiment is shared by Rick Richardson, co-owner of Richardson's Boat Yard, also located on the Standish side of the bridge.

"We're very excited," he said. "It's nice to get it opened. It needed replacement, and now it's a little wider."

Like Collet, Richardson said his clientele had trouble finding his business earlier this season but now that the bridge is open just in time for the main boating season, it's "full steam ahead," he said.

While affected businesses were all for the bridge getting back into operation, last week's grand opening was a little bittersweet to residents who live on the Standish side of the bridge.

"We will miss the quiet," said lifelong resident Wilma Stack. "I enjoyed my last silent night of sleeping last night."

Stack has lived in her house atop a small hill on the Standish side of the bridge for most of her life. She was living in the area during the bridge's previous reconstruction in 1949-1950.

"That bridge was a plank bridge. It made a lot of noise when you drove over it," she remembers.

Stack's neighbors, Bill and Carol Bragdon, who live in the first house on the Standish side of the bridge, have also enjoyed the dead-end solitude.

"The quiet has been nice," Carol Bragdon said.

But both the Bragdons and Stack are also glad to save on time and gas for their trips into busy North Windham. No longer will they have to drive the 7 circuitous miles down Whites Bridge Road to Route 35 and then into the shopping district. Now, a 1-mile, few-minute drive will suffice.

"While it's been nice being quiet, it does have its drawback, having to go all the way around," Stack said.

In addition to the solitude, another benefit of the bridge closure, said Stack, was a temporary traffic signal erected at the intersection of Whites Bridge Road and Route 35. St. Joseph's College students, college employees and residents in the neighborhoods off Whites Bridge Road have welcomed the signal.

And because of the reduced rate of accidents during the construction period and a request from local legislators and the Standish Town Council, the state Department of Transportation won't be removing the signal, as it had planned once the bridge was completed.

According to Standish Town Manager Gordon Billington, "the traffic signal will remain in operation." Billington also said a project is in the works that would rebuild the Whites Bridge Road/Route 35 intersection to improve sight distances for oncoming motorists.

At the completion of Thursday's grand opening celebration, Craig Hurd, who managed the bridge project for the department of transportation, said the 155-foot-long, $1.53 million bridge was completed on time. The budget ran over by $50,000, which paid for the signal light at the end of Whites Bridge Road.

Hurd, who is also working on two other bridge projects in Standish and Naples, said the construction firm of Wyman & Simpson, based in Richmond, "did a great job. They took pride in what they built out here and were very good to work with," Hurd said. Despite the lack of snow last winter, Hurd said, conditions working on the bridge were fearsome all the same.

"People say this winter was an easy one, but on the bridge it was a different story. The wind was just incredible. It's amazing they could work in that," Hurd said.

Hurd said the bridge appears to be higher than the previous structure, but "that's an optical illusion." The bridge has the same clearance, as well, 13 to 14 feet depending on water levels. He said the steel-reinforced concrete bridge with steel substructure was also four to five feet wider.

"It was just its time to go," he said of the old bridge. "The concrete was starting to deteriorate, and the substructure was eroding."

by John Balentine, Lakes Region Weekly, June 4, 2010

Lakes: Sebago Lake
Regions: Sebago


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