Skip to main content

Wire Bridge - New Portland, Maine

Image
By
Deep in the woods of Maine, there is a gem of a bridge. In the small town of New Portland, the Wire Bridge spans over the Carrabassett River and is a delight to see in person. The Wire Bridge is unique among bridges, being the only survivor of four such bridges built in Maine in the 1800's and most likely the only such bridge of its kind still standing in the United States. Available records indicate the building of the Wire Bridge had began in 1864 and construction was completed in 1866. Two men, David Elder and Captain Charles B. Clark, were largely responsible for the bridge's design and construction.

The Wire Bridge's towers are constructed of timber framing and covered with boards protected by cedar shingles. The wooden towers and wire suspension are unique among suspension bridges in the U.S., making the bridge quite unique. In 1959, the legislature of the State of Maine enacted legislation for the preservation of this bridge, and as a result, the bridge was renovated in 1961. When the bridge was renovated, the tower bases were capped with concrete, the towers were rebuilt, steel suspender rods were replaced by steel cables, and a new timber deck was installed. However, the tower framing timbers and main support cables are still the original material to the bridge. The span between the towers is 198 feet in length.

Today, you can quietly enjoy the bridge, explore the surroundings, and even have a picnic along the river. You can drive over the bridge, but there is a weight limit of 3 tons, a height clearance of 12 foot, 4 inches and a maximum width of 9 feet, 9 inches.









How to Get There:


Sources and Links:
MaineDOT - Wire Bridge, New Portland, Maine
New Portland, Maine - History
Atlas Obscura - Wire Bridge
See / Swim - Wire Bridge
Bridgehunter.com - New Portland Wire Bridge

Crossposted to: https://travel-newengland.blogspot.com/2020/01/wire-bridge-maine.html
Labels:
Location: Wire Bridge, River,, New Portland, ME 04961, United States

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Did Caltrans just kill the G26 cutout US Route shields?

By
The US Route System was formally created by the American Association of State Highway Officials during November 1926.  Through the history of the system the only state to which has elected to maintain cutout US Route shields has been California.  The G26 series cutout US Route shields have become a favorite in the road enthusiast hobby and are generally considered to be much more visually pleasing than the standard Federal Highway Administration variant.  However, the G26 shield series appears to have been killed off on January 18, 2026, when Caltrans updated their Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices.  This blog will examine the history of the US Route shield specifications in California and what is happening with the 2026 changes.  The blog cover photo is facing towards the terminus of California State Route 136 and at a G26-2 specification US Route 395 shield.  In the background Mount Whitney can be seen in the Sierra Nevada range.   ...
3 comments
Read more

Hawaii Route 50

By
Hawaii Route 50 is the longest Sign Route on the island of Kauai at 32.6 miles.  The entirety of Hawaii Route 50 is overlaid atop Kaumualii Highway from Lihue west to the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands. Hawaii Route 50 is one of the original 1955-era State Highway designations on Kauai.  Much of the Kaumualii Highway corridor was constructed during the sugar plantation boom of the late Hawaiian Kingdom.  The first tee beam bridge in Hawaii would be constructed along the Kaumualii Highway in 1911 at the Hanapepe.  Much of this highway would be modernized to two-lane standards through the 1930s and 1940s. This page is part of the Gribblenation Hawaii Roads series.  A compellation of all Hawaii-related media from both Gribblenation and RoadwayWiz can be found by clicking  here .  Part 1; the history of Hawaii Route 50 and Kaumualii Highway Hawaii Route 50 is the longest highway on Kauai at 32.6 miles.  The highway begins at Rice Str...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ghost Town Tuesday; Nichols, FL

By
A couple years ago I spent a lot of spare time exploring phosphate mining ghost towns in the Bone Valley of Polk County, Florida.  One ghost town in particular called Nichols on Polk County Route 676 west of Mulberry caught my eye due to a relative lack of documentation on ghosttowns.com. Nichols was created in 1905 during the early phosphate mining boom in the Bone Valley region.  For the time Nichols was unusual since it had company housing in the Nichols Mine site and private residences outside the gate.  Nichols is only about two miles west of Mulberry which probably made it a somewhat reasonable commute even by the wonky standards of the early 20th Century.  Most of the Bone Valley region was relatively remote which made commuting or homesteading impractical which is why there are so many ghost towns in the area.  The company housing section of Nichols was phased out and abandoned by 1950. The Nichols town site is largely abandoned and could "possibl...
4 comments
Read more