Covered Bridges

Bailey Island Bridge
Harpswell, Maine

This bridge is located on Route 24 about 14 miles south of the junction of Route US 1 and 24.

For many years, the fishermen who lived on Bailey Island wanted a bridge to connect their island with Orr's Island. For many years, the town of Harpswell turned down the request. But things changed when the Legislature approved a law allowing the State and the counties to participate in bridge funding. And in 1926, a contract was signed for construction of a new bridge.

The bridge design presented some unique problems because of the tides in the area. Finally, it was decided to build a crib bridge using granite slabs from nearby quarries, similar in design to a bridge that had been observed in Scotland. The granite slabs were sufficiently heavy to withstand the buffeting of wind and wave and the open cribbing or cellular construction permitted the tide to ebb and flow freely without increasing the normal tidal current to any appreciable degree. A concrete roadway was placed on top of the granite cribs. A sidewalk was added to the bridge in 1951, and guardrails were added in 1961. On July 19, 1984 the Bailey Island Bridge was dedicated as a historic civil engineering landmark. The bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.