Meeting on New Bridge set for Thursday

An angler from Sanford leaves his pole unattended on Monday while fishing off what little is left of the New Bridge on the Lebanon side. Another fisherman nearby said he caught a nice large-mouth bass earlier in the day. (Harrison Thorp photo)

Milton and Lebanon residents will get another chance to vent over the collective inertia regarding a replacement for the New Bridge Road bridge on Thursday when New Hampshire and Maine DOT officials along with local representatives meet at the Milton Town offices.

The meeting begins at 3 p.m. and was urged by Nancy Mayville of the New Hampshire DOT so the parties involved could sit down and talk through the options, she said last week.

She said, however, even if Milton put up its 10 percent share to replace the bridge, the earliest it could be acted on would still be 2023.

Mayville added that this meeting was more about whether any other options might be considered given the tight funding on bridgework New Hampshire is facing.

She said the state gets only about $6.8 million a year to spend on 353 red-listed bridges across the state.

Funding on replacement of the New Bridge is complicated. The state of Maine owns its half of the bridge and would provide 50 percent of the funding. Milton, however, owns its half and would have to guarantee payment of its 20 percent of the other 50 percent to New Hampshire, which would provide the other 80 percent.

With winter snows gone and vacationers returning to Milton Three Ponds, the pilings and bridge undercarriage have become eyesores for many who have come to vacation here.

The loss of the bridge has also severely impacted Everetts Cove Marina, whose ice cream and boat rental business depends heavily on Milton’s summer visitors.

Selectman Ben Thompson will represent Lebanon at the Thursday meeting.