First it was oversized trucks crashing into railroad bridges in Westbrook, and now a covered bridge over the Presumpscot River on Hurricane Road has a huge hole in the roadway after an overweight truck tried to cross it.

Babb’s Bridge is a reconstruction of the covered bridge that spanned the Presumpscot between Gorham and Windham. It was built in the 19th century and destroyed by arson by vandals in 1973. The bridge was a total loss; a new one was built to the same specifications as the old one and opened in 1976.

For nearly 50 years, the new bridge served traffic between Gorham and Westbrook, but on Friday, August 23, an overweight dump truck broke through the deck and plunged into the river below.

According to Gorham Police, a Ford F750 truck driven by Joshua Polewarzyk was loaded with gravel and was traveling across the bridge from Gorham to the town of Windham. The excessive weight caused the wooden floor of the bridge structure to give way. The driver was able to get out of the truck and suffered only minor injuries.

The weight limit for the Babb Bridge is three tons, and the dump truck filled with gravel was more than the bridge could handle.

According to WMTW, MaineDOT said the bridge will be closed for months and that some engineers have never seen anything like it. If you regularly travel on Hurricane Road, you will need an alternate route as the bridge will likely be closed for the rest of the year.

Gorham Police would like to speak to anyone who may have witnessed the accident. If so, call Sergeant Ted Hatch of the Gorham Police Department at 222-1660 X 1.