Babb's Bridge is a

covered bridge A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...

spanning the

Presumpscot River The Presumpscot River () is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed June 30, 2011 river located in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. It is the main outlet of Sebago ...

on Hurricane Road, between the towns of Gorham and Windham in

Cumberland County, Maine Cumberland County is a county in the U.S. state of Maine. As of the 2020 census, the population was 303,069, making it the most populous county in Maine. Its county seat is Portland. Cumberland County was founded in 1760 from a portion of ...

. Built in 1976, it is a replica of a 19th-century bridge that stood on the site until it was destroyed by arson in 1973. The bridge was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1972, and was delisted in 2023.

Description and history

Babb's Bridge is located on the Presumpscot River, carrying Hurricane Road between central-western Windham on the east side and northern Gorham on the west side. It is a single-span queenspost truss bridge, with a total structure length of and a width of . Its end portals have a posted height limit of . It is covered by a gabled roof, and its side and end walls are finished in vertical board siding. The present bridge is a reconstruction, dedicated in 1976, of an earlier bridge, which was destroyed by arson in 1973. The exact date of construction of the older bridge is a matter of debate. Some sources give a date as early as 1843, while the state and other sources maintain a date of 1864. The 19th-century bridge was listed on the

in 1972 as a joint effort of the Windham and Gorham Historical Societies. Following its destruction, the towns petitioned the state to build a replica, instead of replacing the bridge with a modern structure of steel and concrete. The present bridge was built, in part as a community effort with donated materials and labor, using techniques that might have been used in the construction of the original. In 2014, vandals cut holes in its roof to allow people to jump into the river below. On August 23, 2024, a dump truck transporting crushed gravel and exceeding the 3-ton weight limit fell through the bridge deck causing significant damage. The bridge is presently closed for safety assessments and potential months-long repairs. The driver suffered minor injuries and was issued a citation by

Maine State Police The Maine State Police (MSP) is the state police agency for Maine, which has jurisdiction across the state and was created in 1921. Training programs Maine State Troopers go through an 18-week Basic Law Enforcement training period at the Maine ...

the next day for a "bridge violation, causing damage to the bridge due to excessive weight".

References

{{Authority control Covered bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine Bridges completed in 1843 Bridges completed in 1973 Bridges in Cumberland County, Maine Buildings and structures in Gorham, Maine Buildings and structures in Windham, Maine 1843 establishments in Maine National Register of Historic Places in Cumberland County, Maine Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine Wooden bridges in Maine Covered bridges in the United States destroyed by arson Former National Register of Historic Places in Maine

Description and history

See also

References