NORWAY – Two bridges in town have deficiencies but remain safe, according to a recently released inspection report from the Department of Transportation.

The Crockett Ridge Road bridge and the French Bridge off Morse Road in North Norway, were both identified as needing maintenance to ensure continued safe use. Both bridges are deemed safe to travel at this time, said Benjamin Foster, assistant bridge maintenance engineer for the Department of Transportation.

“They are safe for the traveling public. If they were unsafe we would post it as such or close the bridge to traffic,” Foster said.

State law requires that all bridges that are at least 10 feet wide from the centerline be inspected, he said. Federal law requires inspection of all bridges with more than a 20-foot span be inspected.

“We average 2,300 bridge inspections a year,” Foster said. Those inspections include bridges on both local and state roads. Bridges on local roads are inspected every two years, he said.

If a bridge component is in poor condition, we give them heads up,” Foster said. These bridges would be the responsibility of the town to repair.

Foster said the French Bridge, off Morse Road, has a “pretty short span” of only 18 feet. The inspectors found stone abutments that had large voids with water coming through them.

Older bridges are typically chinked for equal bearing down through the bridge, but voids bring the potential for movement.

In this case, some of the stones are 60 to 70 years old. Foster said he has advised town officials to monitor it.

The Crockett Ridge Road Bridge shows section loss. “Over time it’s started to get thin. There are no holes yet, but it’s in poor condition as a result,” he said. Still, he noted, no work needs to be done on it yet.

The problem, he said, is there is no capital funding for the town bridges due to bridge legislation in 2001.

Town Manager David Holt told selectmen recently that the two bridges will need repairs in the future. The town has done a lot of upgrades to its bridges in the past 10 years, he noted.

“We wouldn’t want anyone to think they are unsafe,” he told the board. “In the next year or two, the (two identified bridges will get attention.”

“Voters have been very supportive of infrastructure repairs. The problem will never go away. It will always be an issue,” he said.

ldixon@sunjournal.com