Bailey Island Bridge

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Bailey Island Bridge
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Bailey Island Bridge from Bailey Island, looking toward Orr's Island
Nearest city:	Harpswell, ME
Coordinates:	43°44′57.8″N 69°59′18.6″W / 43.749389, -69.9885Coordinates: 43°44′57.8″N 69°59′18.6″W / 43.749389, -69.9885
Built/Founded:	1928
Architectural style(s):	Other
Added to NRHP:	April 28, 1975
NRHP Reference#:	75000093 [1]
Governing body:	Local

The Bailey Island Bridge (also called the Cribstone Bridge) is a historic bridge in the town of Harpswell within Cumberland County in the state of Maine.

Contents 1 History 2 Design 3 Additions and Recognition 4 Photo Gallery 5 Notes 6 Sources 7 Further reading

[edit] History

For many years, the residents of Bailey Island, Maine advocated that a bridge be built to connect their island with Orr's Island. The town of Harpswell, Maine, which encompasses both islands, turned down the request. However, when the Maine Legislature drafted a law allowing the state and counties to fund bridge construction, a plan emerged to build such a bridge. A contract was signed in 1926, with construction beginning on the Bailey Island Bridge in 1927 and finishing in 1928. The engineer for the project was Llewelyn N. Edwards.

[edit] Design

Design of the 1,150-foot bridge was complicated by the tides in the area known as Will's Gut. It was decided to build a cribstone bridge using granite slabs from local quarries on the border between Yarmouth, Maine and Pownal, Maine. It is believed that the bridge was modeled after a bridge in Scotland that no longer exists.^[2] Granite slabs were considered sufficiently heavy to withstand wind and wave, while the open cribbing allowed the tide to ebb and flow freely without increasing tidal current to any great degree. Some 10,000 tons of granite were used in the project. A concrete road (now part of Route 24) was built on top of the cribstones.

[edit] Additions and Recognition

A sidewalk was added in 1951 and guard rails in 1961. On July 19, 1984 the Bailey Island Bridge was recognized as a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. The Bailey Island Bridge is believed to be the only surviving granite cribstone bridge in the world.

[edit] Photo Gallery

Stone cribs along the side of the bridge	View of the bridge from the rocky shoreline	Close up of the water passage	Close up the stone base in color
Stone piles under the bridge	View of crib work and guard rails

[edit] Notes

[edit] Sources

• Maine Department of Transportation
• Page 1 and Page 2, Building Cribstone Bridge
• Cribstone Bridge, Orrs Island, Maine - spotstory: People. Places. Passion.
• Bridgemeister
• Bailey Island Bridge in the Structurae database

[edit] Further reading

• Maine Bridge History
• History of Bailey Island
• Kathleen Clemons Photography of Bailey Island Bridge
• Documentary video:The Cribstone Bridge,Explore Maine segment,(c)2007, Remember ME! Media,a 13 minute documentary clip describing the history and location of the bridge.

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