The Little River Bridge on Route 237 in Gorham was built in 1952. It is a single span bridge with two main beams that support its load spanning 100 feet across the river at a width of 27.5 feet. It was posted early last spring with a weight limit of 38 tons when inspections revealed that the bridge had reached its useful life and needed to be replaced.

Typically bridges overseen by the Maine Department of Transportation are on a two-year inspection cycle, however, once a bridge has been identified as needing repair or replacement, the inspection cycle is shortened to every six to twelve months. Little River Bridge was added to the shorter inspection cycle once it was posted with a weight limit.

The tentative plan is to replace the Little River Bridge in 2020, with the project going out to bid this December. Construction would likely start in late spring of 2020 and the bridge would reopen in October or November of the same year. Some final grading, seeding and paving may be completed in the spring of 2021. The proposed schedule could change based on contractor availability and permitting, but the Maine DOT would relay that information to the Town of Gorham.

A temporary roadway and bridge will be constructed on the east side of the existing bridge so that the traffic pattern can be kept as normal as possible while the project is underway.

The new Little River Bridge will be a five girder system which provides the ability to have longer and wider spans. The new bridge will be 132 feet across the river and will be 32 feet wide to better match the existing roadway. The increased span across the river is designed to open the hydraulic capacity beneath the bridge to help avoid water backup during high-water events typically experienced in spring. Water and sewer utilities will be attached to the new bridge as they are now. The gas line will remain buried under the river where it currently is, and aerial utilities will likely move to the other side of the road.

This project will be funded completely by state funds. As it was added to the work plan on a semi-emergency basis, it is unfeasible to request federal funds. Usually a project of this nature has a three-year cycle from identification of need to completion, but the new Little River Bridge should be done in about half that time.