WATERFORD — One of two wooden archways at the Elm Vale Cemetery in South Waterford will be shored up to preserve the historic structure.

Bill Haynes, a member of the Elm Vale Cemetery Committee and town cemetery superintendent, said bids for the work are due in September.

“The base is rotted,” Haynes said. The specs call for concrete to bolster the support system of the archway.

The archway is the newer of the two marking the entrances to the cemetery on Sweden Road.

He said it has not been determined how old the deteriorated archway is but he believes it was built between 1885 and 1890.

“We couldn’t ascertain who built it,” he said.

Haynes said the Board of Selectmen will open the bids next month. A fundraising effort is being planned to help pay for the project.

The older archway was renovated in recent years for about $7,500.

ldixon@sunjournal.com