The Clair–Fort Kent Bridge is a steel truss bridge crossing the Saint John River between Clair, New Brunswick in Canada and Fort Kent, Maine in the United States. The bridge handles approximately 279,490 vehicle crossings per year and forms a border crossing on the

International Boundary Borders are generally defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders ...

. It connects with Route 205 in New Brunswick and Route 161 and U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Maine, also forming the northern terminus of US 1. Since it is an international bridge, the Canadian portion of the structure is the responsibility of the Province of

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

, while the American portion is operated by the State of

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

. The bridge was built in 1929–30 as a replacement for an existing

cable ferry A cable ferry (including the types chain ferry, swing ferry, floating bridge, or punt) is a ferry that is guided (and in many cases propelled) across a river or large body of water by cables connected to both shores. Early cable ferries often ...

and a cable suspension footbridge. The bridge has three steel through-truss spans of each for a total length of . In 1995, the first pier from the New Brunswick abutment had major repairs done. In 1997, the steel members under the deck in the first 1.5 spans from the New Brunswick end were sandblasted, and then painted with a primer of inorganic zinc. In the same year, the downstream exterior stringers in these 1.5 spans were replaced. In 1998, the downstream concrete curb in the first 1.5 spans from the New Brunswick end was replaced. In 2000, the New Brunswick end concrete abutment underwent a major restoration.

Replacement

In 2009, officials from Canada and the United States determined that the bridge was structurally and functionally obsolete. In January 2011, the

Maine Department of Transportation The Maine Department of Transportation, also known as MaineDOT (occasionally referred to as MDOT), is the office of state government charged with the regulation and maintenance of roads, rail, ferries, and other public transport infrastructure i ...

imposed a 2.7-ton weight restriction on the bridge after advanced deterioration of the bridge on Maine's side was discovered during a routine inspection. On January 28, 2011, officials from New Brunswick and Maine announced plans to build a new bridge and demolish the existing structure. Construction began on the new bridge in 2012 and the estimated completion date was June 30, 2014. It was expected to cost $13.9million. The new bridge opened on July 31, 2014. Demolition of the old bridge was underway by September 29, 2014.

Border crossing

The Fort Kent - Clair Border Crossing is at the Clair–Fort Kent Bridge on the

Canada–United States border The international border between Canada and the United States is the longest in the world by total length. The boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Canada' ...

. This crossing first opened in 1905 with the construction of a footbridge that traversed the Saint John River. A replacement for the steel bridge that was built in 1930 opened July 31, 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clair - Fort Kent Bridge Road bridges in New Brunswick Canada–United States bridges U.S. Route 1 Transportation buildings and structures in Aroostook County, Maine Buildings and structures in Madawaska County, New Brunswick Transport in Madawaska County, New Brunswick Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System Bridges over the Saint John River (Bay of Fundy) Bridges completed in 1930 International bridges in Maine Road bridges in Maine Steel bridges in the United States Steel bridges in Canada Truss bridges in Canada Truss bridges in the United States 1930 establishments in Maine 1930 establishments in New Brunswick

Replacement

Border crossing

See also

References