GORHAM, Maine (WMTW) – The Babb’s Covered Bridge in Maine will be closed for months after an overloaded truck smashed through the roadway, leaving a gaping hole.
Gorham Police said that around 12:45 p.m. Friday, a Ford F750 loaded with gravel was traveling across the Gorham-Windham bridge when the bridge’s wooden deck gave way.
The truck plunged into the Presumpscot River below and overturned, causing the roof of the vehicle to sink into the water.
According to police, the driver of the truck, 37-year-old Joshua Polewarzyk of Limington, was able to get out of the vehicle himself and suffered minor injuries.
Maine Department of Transportation officials told Bonnie Bishop of Maine’s Total Coverage that the truck exceeded the three-ton weight limit that the Babb Covered Bridge can support.
The original Babb’s Bridge, built in 1840, was burned down by vandals in 1973.
The current version of Babb’s Bridge was built from lumber sawn locally in Gorham. MaineDOT said it carefully reconstructed the Queen Post truss bridge using historically authentic techniques and reopened it to traffic in 1976.
Maine Department of Transportation officials told Bishop that the bridge would be closed for months and that some engineers had never seen anything like it.
Rescue workers were able to recover the truck from the Presumpscot River. The truck pulled from the water bore the logo of The Driveway Guys, an asphalt construction company based in Biddeford.
Authorities advise people traveling from Gorham on Hurricane Road or from Windham on Covered Bridge Road to look for alternate routes.
“There’s a detour of probably two to three miles, which isn’t terribly long in the grand scheme of things. But we know it’s going to cause inconvenience, and we know it’s going to cause inconvenience for most of the rest of the year,” said Paul Merrill, MaineDOT’s communications director.
Gorham Police are asking anyone who witnessed the accident to call Sergeant Ted Hatch at 207-222-1660, extension 1.
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